Reunions
by Anne04
Summary: As the Doctor travels with Martha, Rose returns to Cardiff and reunites with Jack. Will Rose and the Doctor find each other? Features 10th Doctor, Rose, Martha, Donna, Jack and the Torchwood team
1. Chapter 1

**Don't own anything!**

**This takes place somewhere in Doctor Who season 3 and Torchwood season 1****Woke up this morning**

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Gwen rolled out of bed with a deep sigh. It was going to be one of those days, she could feel it. She and Rhys were fighting, again, and Jack was driving the team crazy with extra work hours. Everything just felt so suffocating these days.

She looked at her self in the mirror. She hadn't even changed clothes when she got home late last night, just went straight to bed. Rhys had left an angry note on the kitchen table, saying he would be home "later" and not to call him. With a sigh she noticed that there was Weevil blood on her left shoe and that the refrigerator was pretty much empty of everything edible, save for a dodgy looking piece of cheese.

Gwen felt like screaming when she got outside and saw her car had been vandalized. "Unbelievable" she muttered and slammed the car door shut.

"You would not believe the day that I am having" Gwen greeted Tosh over the phone.

"It's eight in the morning" Tosh answered, sounding confused.

"And it's already a crappy day! Could you tell Captain Pain-In-The-Ass that I'll be late?"

"Yeah sure" Tosh said, although she really didn't feel like spending anymore time with Jack than what was strictly necessary. He had been in a foul mood the last couple of weeks, even poor Ianto had managed to get on his bad side.

"Just tell him I'll be there shortly, yeah?" Gwen said, returning her focus to the road just in time to step on the brake, as a woman stepped out on the road in front of her. "Bloody hell!"

"Gwen are you alright" Tosh asked through the phone.

"Yeah, just… Talk to Jack, I'll be there soon" Gwen said and hung up and exited the car. "What the hell are you doing?"

The woman turned and looked at Gwen with a confused look on her face. "Can you help me?" Her voice sounded almost pleading and Gwen suddenly felt bad for yelling at her.

"Are you alright?"

"I… I don't know where I am. Can you help me" the woman repeated and looked around. A crowd was starting to gather and Gwen noticed that her car was causing a queue of cars down the road.

"Yeah, I'll help you. Let me just park my car, okay?" The woman nodded and walked off the road.

Gwen parked her car in a nearby parking lot and started to walk down the street, hoping the woman had just decided to wander off instead of waiting for her. There was something off about the woman and Gwen was already late, she didn't have time to play nurse. She sighed as she spotted the woman standing in front of a street café.

"So, what do you need help with" she asked, trying not to sound too impolite.

"Where am I?"

"Cardiff. You're in Cardiff. Did you hit your head or something?"

"Cardiff? But I don't understand. Why am I here?"

"I don't know. Listen, I have to get to work…"

"Do I know you" the woman suddenly said, which only helped to convince Gwen that she was completely mental.

"I don't think so. Is there someone I can call for you?"

"I don't know." The woman was starting to sound hysterical. "I don't think I'm supposed to be here." She looked at their surroundings. "So this is Cardiff, yeah?" She wiped a tear away. Gwen nodded and was just about to offer the woman a lift to the nearest asylum when her phone started to ring.

"Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?"

Gwen sighed. "Good morning Jack."

"You were supposed to be here an hour ago" the Captain practically screamed over the phone.

"Jack I'm sorry, I had a really bad morning and then some woman stepped out in front of my car…"

"I don't care if you woke up with an extra head this morning! Where are you now, we're coming to get you, there's been some serious rift activity and we need to check it out."

Gwen gave him the address and abruptly hung up. "Sorry, that was my boss. He's a bit of twat, actually." The woman smiled. "Will you be alright?"

She nodded. "I've been here before, I think. Guess I'll just have to figure out how I got here and get back."

Gwen saw the Torchwood jeep turn the corner of the street. "I hope it works out for you" she said and waved at the jeep to let Jack know where she was. She turned to the woman again. "Listen, if things don't work out…" she found a piece of paper and a pen in a pocket, "give me a call, okay?" She wrote down her phone number and handed the paper to the woman.

Gwen heard the a car door slam and turned to face her boss. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I was just helping…" Gwen realized she didn't even know the woman's name and turned to ask her, only to found she was gone.

"What are you talking about" Jack asked.

"She was just here, I swear, Jack!"

"Listen, I hope you're not late because you spent the morning decorating your car" Owen said as he exited the car.

"Excuse me?"

"You don't expect us to call you 'Bad Wolf' now, do you?" Owen continued.

"What are talking about" Jack interrupted.

"Someone grafitied my car last night" Gwen said.

"Someone wrote 'Bad Wolf' on your car" Jack asked with a wary look.

"Yeah so? Probably just some stupid prank. Wouldn't put it pass Rhys, in fact."

"Guys, the rift activity" Tosh suddenly yelled from the car. "It's just down the street."

The team went to check up on the place where there had been a massive outburst of activity, but there was no evidence left.

"You think something came through" Ianto asked.

"Well whatever it was, it's gone now" Owen said. "Guess we'll just have to wait until something happens."

"Yeah… Gwen, I'll walk you to your car" Jack said and started to walk in the direction of the parking lot.

"Is he alright?"

The team was gathered in the conference room to have lunch, all except Jack who was, once again, moping in his office with his hand in a jar.

"I don't think it's healthy to spend so much time alone with a hand. Even if it is artificial" Ianto said.

"He does seem awfully moody" Tosh noted.

"Yeah, what's up with that, Ianto" Owen asked with his mouth full of pizza. "Not doing the job properly?"

"Owen shut up" Gwen said and slapped his arm. "He acted so weird about the fact someone wrote 'Bad Wolf' on my car. Do you think it means anything?"

"Yeah, it means he's gonna have to give you a raise so you can get your car fixed" Owen mumbled. "Look, just give it a rest, okay? We can't all be chipper like you."

Gwen was just about to respond when Jack burst into the room. "Which one of you idiots did it?"

They all looked at him like he had grown a second head. "Did what?"

"Don't play stupid. Who replaced our sign?"

"Jack we don't know what you're talking about" Gwen said. They all followed him out into the main area of the Hub.

"I'm talking about that" Jack said and pointed at the Torchwood sign above the old couch. Except it didn't say 'Torchwood', it said 'Bad Wolf'.

"What the hell is going on" Owen asked.

"Jack, the rift is active again! It's the same place" Tosh said and started to type.

"Better check it out then" Jack said.

"Nothing! What the hell is happening" Owen asked with frustration in his voice. They had been chasing rift activity all over the city and now it was well over midnight and they were all tired and grumpy.

"It's over an hour since the last trace of activity registered" Tosh said, looking at her monitor.

"Fine, go home. I'll keep looking" Jack said.

Gwen sighed when her phone started to ring. "Hello?"

"Gwen, is that you?"

"Andy? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, listen, I'm at the hospital. Some woman was run over by a car and she didn't have any ID, just this number. Do you know her?""Andy you're gonna have to be a bit more precise than 'some woman'."

"Blonde, early twenties, pretty…"Gwen suddenly had a horrible feeling that it was the woman from this morning. "Shit! I'll be there soon" she said and hung up. "Shit!"

"What?"

"That woman I almost hit this morning is in the hospital. She didn't have any ID, just my number. I have to go see if she's alright!"

"I'll come with you" Jack suddenly offered.

"No, it's fine Jack, you don't have to." Gwen wasn't sure she wanted to spend anymore time with Jack.

"It's no problem. Come on, I'll drive."

They met Andy in the waiting room, where he was talking with a nurse.

"Gwen, thank you for coming" Andy said, as the nurse left them. He looked at Jack with obvious disdain.

"Is she going to be alright?"

"Yeah, she has a concussion and two broken ribs, but she got of easy, the nurse told me. So, what was she doing with your number?"

"I met her this morning, she seemed confused but I was running late, so I gave her my number, in case she needed help. Can I see her?"

"Yeah sure, this way." Andy led them down a corridor and stopped outside a room. "So, do you know her name" Andy asked Gwen.

"Her name is Rose Tyler" Jack answered.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: As per usual, I own nothing**

**Thank you to those who read, reviewed and favoured

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****Who knew?**

"You know her?" Both Gwen and Andy looked confused.

"We used to be friends, a long time ago." Gwen noted the sad tone in Jack's voice. Then suddenly his whole attitude and posture changed. "Has someone been to see her, a doctor?"

"I don't know" Andy said.

"What about a big guy, leather jacket, big ears and nose, kinda rude?"

"I can ask a nurse" Andy offered with a confused look.

"Yeah, you do that" Jack said with a smile.

"You seem happy" Gwen noted.

"Oh Gwen, this is wonderful" Jack exclaimed and kissed her forehead. "If only you knew!"

"There has not been anyone asking for her" Andy's voice interrupted the moment. "But the nurse said that you could go in and talk with her, if you want. They gave her something for the pain, but she should be lucid."

Jack nodded. "Thank you" he said and entered the room.

Rose felt something warm touch her cheek and smiled. Finally, she was where she belonged and he was here now, with her, and everything would be all right. She opened her eyes, eager to see his warm brown eyes again, but was met with steely blue ones instead. Her features immediately fell.

"Not who you expected?"

"Sorry" she mumbled.

Jack smiled. "No worries. I'm sure he'll be here soon."

"He will?"

"Well yeah, once he discovers that you're not in the TARDIS, he'll come running."

"Oh…" Rose felt silly for getting her hopes up, even just for a second. Obviously Jack didn't know what had happened. "I don't travel with the Doctor anymore" she said. She still felt numb when she was forced to talk about it.

"What happened?"

"I got stuck in an alternative dimension. It's a long story, really" Rose said.

"Oh. I saw the records after Torchwood One was destroyed. You were listed as a casualty, but I just figured…. Since there was no body…"

"There was a gap between the dimensions. I was forced through and got stuck when the walls closed."

Jack was at a loss for words. He had never seen Rose look this defeated. "How are you feeling?"

"Bit woozy. Confused. I still don't know how I ended up here." Rose was aware that it wasn't what Jack had asked about, but she didn't want to talk about it.

"I think you came through the rift. There has been massive activity today." Rose just nodded and the room was silent for a while. "How long has it been?"

"About three years. But time moves faster in the other dimension."

"So what do you plan to do now?"

Rose shrugged. "Don't know. Suppose getting a job is a bit hard if you're officially dead."

"Well… It just so happen that I am in a position to hire someone" Jack said with a smirk. He had a feeling Rose would be a great addition to the team.

"Yeah? You don't work at a…" she leaned forward and almost whispered, "a gentleman's bar, do you?"

He couldn't contain his laugh. "Not exactly, no. I work for Torchwood, the one here in Cardiff. And I recon you would know a thing or two about aliens?"

"Suppose I do, yeah" she said with a smile.

"Great! I'll go get you discharged and then you can come with me." He stopped at the door. "So can I just ask you… You and the Doctor…?"

"We were never like that."

Jack looked thoughtful. "Hm, I always thought the Doctor would get it together and you would make a lot of rude, big-eared kids." Rose didn't answer.

"Jack, what's going on" Gwen asked. She had been waiting outside the room, watching the conversation between him and the woman.

"She's coming with us" Jack said, striding towards the nurses desk and asking them to discharge Rose.

"What? Why?"

"I just hired her. She works for Torchwood now."

Gwen's facial features took on a striking resemblance to a fish and she just stood there watching Jack take care of the papers. It wasn't until her phone started to ring that she was shook out of her daze. "Yeah?"

"Gwen where the hell are you?"

Gwen looked up as the woman exited the room and walked towards them. "Rhys, not now" she said and hung up.

"Rose, I'd like you to met one of my agents. This is Gwen Cooper" Jack introduced them.

"We've met" Gwen noted and crossed her arms. She didn't trust this woman. "How's the rips?"

"Oh… A bit sore, but I'll live" Rose said with an uneasy smile.

"How did you two meet?"

"I stepped out in front of Gwen's car this morning."

"Try not to make a habit of that" Jack said with a smile and took Rose's hand.

"Where are you going?"

Jack looked at Gwen. "Back to the Hub. Rose needs to rest."

"Jack you sleep in your office, where is she going to stay?"

"It's fine" Rose intervened. "I'm not really that tired and Jack and I have a lot of catching up to do."

Gwen scowled but didn't retort. She mumbled a goodbye and left the hospital in a huff.

It was raining when Jack and Rose exited the hospital and Jack offered his jacket to her, seeing as she was only wearing a hoodie. He was almost at the jeep, when he noticed she had stopped, and turned to look at her. She looked so small and frail, standing there in the middle of the street wearing his jacket, so lost. He wasn't sure, if she was crying or if it was just the rain.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just…. It's a bit much to take in" she said and followed him to the jeep.

The ride was silent, with Rose just staring out the window of the car. Jack parked the car and led her around to the back entrance. Ianto was sitting faithfully at the desk, looking through some papers. "Hello" he greeted. Things between him and Jack had been weird lately. Ianto wasn't the jealous type, but seeing Jack entering the Hub with a pretty, blonde woman, who was even wearing Jack's beloved coat, made him feel uncomfortably. "I made coffee."

"Thanks, Ianto. This is Rose Tyler, an old friend of mine. She's going to be working with us for a while" Jack said.

Rose smiled at the baby-faced man standing behind the desk. "Ianto is our coffee boy."

"Nice to meet you" Rose said and was met with a strained "likewise." Rose had a feeling she wouldn't exactly be welcomed with upon arms by the other people who worked for Torchwood.

Jack showed her around the Hub, stopping a few places and explaining things.

"Oh god" Rose suddenly exclaimed.

"What? Oh the sign? Yeah, it used to say Torchwood. We don't know what happened."

Rose looked at the sign hanging over an old dingy couch. Bad Wolf. Those words had haunted her all the way into another dimension. She hadn't talked to anyone about her "condition", no one knew that she wasn't just Rose Marion Tyler anymore.

"Didn't the Doctor mention something about those words following you around, through time and space? Remember Margaret the Slitheen? She was connected to the words too. And the Game Station."

"I… I don't know" Rose lied. "I don't know what it means."

"Guess it means something is coming. Someone wrote it on Gwen's car as well. Maybe it's a warning."

"Yeah, maybe…"

Jack led her into his office and they sat down.

"Is that a hand? In a jar? You got a hand in a jar in your office?"

"It's the Doctor's hand, actually. Don't know how, but it's his hand all right. It gives some sort of signal whenever he is near."

"That's the Doctor's hand?" Rose eyes suddenly widened. "Oh my god, that's the hand the Sycorax cut off!"

"What?"

"The Sycorax, a couple of years ago at Christmas? The Doctor duelled one of them and got his hand cut off."

"So, he has one hand now?"

"No he grew a new one, he was still…" Rose stopped herself. She wasn't sure how much she should tell Jack. Torchwood was still Torchwood and the Doctor hadn't even told her about regeneration before it happened, which meant it was something private to him. "Well, it grew back, he's still the Doctor."

They sat in silence for a little while, until Rose couldn't contain it anymore. "You probably think I'm silly."

"What do you mean?"

"Hoping for some nine hundred year old alien to love me back. Doing all these things to get back to him, and he isn't here and I don't even know how to contact him."

"Rose, I'm so sorry…"

"They kept telling me, mum, Mickey, even Sarah Jane…. They kept telling me he would break my heart, but I didn't listen, I didn't want to hear it. I was so stupid, so stubborn, but I really thought we would be together forever. I didn't matter that he was older ("or an alien" Jack said with a smile), I just wanted to be with him. And now look at me…"

"I think he felt the same way, Rose, and now that you're back, we just have to wait until something crazy happens and he shows up and then everything will be back to normal. Or at least as normal as things can get when you're dealing with the Doctor" Jack said with a big smile.

Rose just smiled. She knew this wasn't the case. She had had three long years to think things through. They had left so many things unsaid between them, things that needed to be said and she knew it could never be like it was before. She wanted more, she wanted him to say the words he didn't say when they said goodbye for the last time. And she wasn't sure he could do that.


	3. Chapter 3

**I still own nothing, sadly  
Thank you all for your kind reviews and to those who favoured and alerted, thank you so much. Feedback is always lovely and I hope you will all continue to review.****Rain**

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Rose had eventually fallen asleep. They still hadn't discussed her employment at Torchwood or anything really, for that matter, but right now Jack didn't care. He felt like this was his chance, once the Doctor found out Rose was here, he would surely come looking instantly and then he could fix Jack.

Jack took a deep breath. It wasn't that he hadn't been grateful for his immortality, it had definitely come in handy several times, especially while working for Torchwood, but he was starting to feel less and less like a real human being, he was changing into something new and he wasn't sure he liked that.

He watched Rose sleep. She was lying on a couch, his big coat draped over her like a blanket and it struck him how young and fragile she looked. He thought back to the feisty nineteen year old Rose he had met during the blitz. He had been instantly smitten with her, she was pretty and funny but also, as he soon discovered, completely taken, although she wasn't even aware of it. It was so obvious that her and the Doctor, no matter how much they both denied it, were in love with each other, they just had to wake up and see it. In a way Jack was jealous. The Doctor might not have been the most handsome man alive, but there was just something about him, something that was just irresistible, and Jack couldn't help to fall a little bit in love with the rude alien with the big ears and nose. But in his heart he also knew that the Doctor only had eyes for Rose and that was how it was supposed to be.

When Gwen finally closed the door to the apartment behind her, her head was spinning and she just wanted to crawl into bed and get at least a couple of hours of sleep. But apparently Rhys had other ideas. He was waiting for her in the living room.

"Please, not now Rhys" Gwen sighed.

"When, then? You are never home!"

"It's just been a crazy day. Why can't you leave it?"

"Do you hear yourself? This is supposed to be a relationship and all we do is fight!"

"No, all _you _do is fight! You are acting like some spoiled girl. I have a job, an important job."

"Oh and there you go again, with that fancy job of yours. If it's so important, then tell me what it is you do."

"Paperwork, I told you. It's just important paperwork" Gwen said, cursing herself for walking into a conversation about her job.

"And what about that boss of yours, eh?"

"Leave Jack out of this, he has nothing to do with it."

"He has everything to do with it, you daft cow! Ever since you started that job you're never home, you're distant and you act like you're so much better than the rest of us!""Well maybe I am!" Gwen immediately covered her mouth and wished she could take that back.

"Sometimes I really hate you!" And with that Rhys ended the fight, slammed the door to the bedroom and forced Gwen to spend another night on the couch.

"I really hate days like this" Gwen mumbled and made herself as comfortable as possible on the couch.

Owen was already sitting at his desk when Tosh walked into the Hub, which was a rare thing. He greeted her, as she sat down, but his eyes never left Jack's office.

"What's going on?"

Owen's eyes didn't even waver. "He's got someone up there."

"So?"

"Someone who isn't Ianto.""Oh" Tosh said surprised. This was unexpected. "Where is Ianto?""Out in the front office, making coffee like a madman. Like that's going to do any good."

"Morning" Gwen grumbled as she entered the Hub via the invisible lift.

"Morning" Owen and Tosh said in unison, still looking at Jack's office.

"What are we staring at?"

"Jack has someone up there" Tosh said.

"And it isn't Ianto" Owen supplied.

"It's probably Rose" Gwen muttered and sat down at her desk.

That got Owen and Tosh's attention and they turned to look at her. "Rose?"

"Yeah, I met her yesterday. She was the one who walked out in front of my car and the one Andy called about last night. Apparently her and Jack are old friends and he just hired her on the spot!"

"No way" Tosh exclaimed in a very girly voice that was so unlike her.

"Yes. She is pretty, blonde and from now on she is apparently also an employee at Torchwood three" Gwen said with a grimace.

"So, who is she?"

Gwen shrugged. "How should I know? I only met her yesterday."

"Well I just guessed, what with you being a copper and all, you would have done your homework" Owen said.

"There must be thousands of Rose Tyler's out there" Gwen said. "It would take days."

"I could give it a try" Tosh offered. Owen smiled at her and Gwen rolled her eyes.

After about an half hour Tosh finally hit something. "There was a Rose Marion Tyler, born in 1986 in London to one Peter Alan Tyler and Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Tyler ("that's a mouthful" Owen muttered). Father died when she was a baby and the mother never remarried. She was in the hospital a couple of times when she was a teenager, with broken bones. Hospital staff suspected her boyfriend, but he was never charged. Worked at a department store, Henriks, until that blew up. Then she just disappear. The mother accused the boyfriend, one Michael Smith, of murdering her, but then she turned up again after a year. Claimed she had been travelling" Tosh said. "She pops up every once in a while and she is connected to some of the alien activity that has happened." Tosh clicked away and found a black and white picture of a young woman talking to a man wearing a leather jacket and… "Is that Jack?"

The three of them all squinted at the screen. "That is definitely Jack. And that is the Rose I met yesterday" Gwen said. "Well, he did say they used to be friends. Where is this from?"

"Cardiff, 2005" Tosh said.

"You were right, Gwen. She is definitely pretty" Owen muttered and looked up at Jack's office again.

"They must go way back, look at what Jack is wearing" Gwen pointed at the picture and they all noticed their leader's charismatic World War 2 jacket was absent.

"He looks so… Normal…" Tosh said. "But oh, look. It says here she died in London a few years ago. She was at Canary Wharf when all those Cybermen and Daleks attacked."

"Yeah and look at that" Owen pointed. "Her name is flagged in Torchwood files!"

"What does that mean" Gwen asked.

"It means she did something we didn't like" Owen muttered. "But the papers are classified, only Jack knows the code."

"Could you crack it, Tosh" Gwen inquired.

"I… I don't know. I'm not sure. Besides I hardly think Jack would hire an enemy of the crown of something like that. Maybe if we just asked him? Or her?"

"Yeah because Jack always tells us everything" Owen muttered.

"Guess we'll just have to wait then" Gwen mumbled and sat down at her own desk again.

Rose woke up with a start and before she knew it, she was lying on the floor. "Ow" she mumbled into the carpet.

"Very graceful. Are you alright" Jack asked, obviously trying to contain his laugh.

"Fine, thanks" Rose said and made no move to get up.

"Need a hand?"

"No, just not quite ready to face the world yet."

"Well, do you want to face it with rug burns all over your face?"

Rose sighed and got up. "Fine, fine…. Bring it on, then."

Jack laughed and opened the door out to the Hub. "I suppose we should get you acquainted with the team and then we should probably get you some clothes and a place to stay. Although you'll be more than welcome to stay in my office?"

"Apartment sounds good" Rose said. It would be the first time she actually lived alone. Before meeting the Doctor it was just her and Jackie and then obviously she lived with the Doctor in the TARDIS, and in the alternative universe Jackie had insisted that she moved in with her and Pete (apparently she was worried Rose would off herself the moment she was left alone for more than five minutes).

"Alright, let's met the rest of the team" Jack said and led her out of the office.

Gwen, Owen and Tosh all looked up as Jack exited his office, followed by a blonde woman.

"Where's Ianto" Jack asked.

"Pouting out front" Owen said and smiled at the woman. "Doctor Owen Harper, nice to meet you" he said.

"Rose Tyler, likewise" Rose said and smiled back. He was the first person, except Jack obviously, who had been welcoming.

"And this is Toshiko Sato, our computer genius" Jack said and gestured at the Asian woman.

"Tosh is fine" she said and gave a careful smile.

"And obviously you met Gwen yesterday, and Ianto. So that's the team. Rose will be working here for some time" Jack said. "But first, we need to get you some clothes and other necessities and a place to stay, until you get your own place."

"Why don't I take you shopping now" Gwen suddenly suggested. At Rose's stunned expression she just smiled. "Yeah, it will give us a chance to talk a little, get to know each other. It will be fun."

Jack narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything and fished out a beat up old wallet from which he produced several pound notes. He handed them to Rose with a smile. "Have fun."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I own nothing  
I hope you will all still review, as it really does mean a lot. I have no beta, so all mistakes are my own doing, sorry about that.****

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Patience

Martha had been travelling with the Doctor for some time now. At least it felt like more than a couple of weeks, but she didn't know for sure, it was easy to lose all concept of time in the TARDIS, ironically enough. She loved it here and she loved being with the Doctor. She had never met a man quite like him before and it exited her beyond belief. The only downside, it would seem, was a former companion of the Doctor's, Rose. It was like she was haunting him. Whenever her name came up, he would get a tormented look and become uncharacteristically quiet and then change the subject. She wished he would just forget about Rose and start looking at her, really look at her.

Martha had decided to spend the afternoon (she told herself it was afternoon, it made it easier to keep track of time) exploring the TARDIS. She had gotten the tour by the Doctor, but it seemed like new rooms or corridors kept appearing and she was curious by nature.

Martha spent a good deal of the next three hours getting completely lost in the maze that was the TARDIS. She had visited several empty rooms, one with a sign saying Belarus (and it had been rather cold in there), a library containing a swimming pool and a room filled with pears. After a side trip down a corridor with nothing but mirrors and into a room that was decorated like the eighties, Martha came to a door unlike all the rest. It was painted in a bright pink colour and when Martha opened it, she at first thought the room belonged to a child. The walls were a light purple and there was clothes lying around, like someone had just stepped out for a minute. Martha took another step into the room and noticed that the air was a bit stale, like it had been a while since someone had actually lived in the room. She looked around again and it suddenly became obvious that the room had been uninhabited for some time. Even the clothes strewn on the floor looked arranged, like someone had gone to great lengths to make the room look this way.

Martha moved over to the unmade bed and gingerly sat down. She took the picture standing on the bedside table; it was a pretty blonde girl, probably still a teenager, and an older blonde woman (both peroxide, though, Martha noted), most likely her mother. The young one was laughing at something while the older was posing for the camera. She looked around and noticed several picture frames around the room. The nearest was another picture of the blonde girl and an older man with big ears and a goofy expression on his face, which made Martha smile too. It was probably the girl's father. There were a few more of the two of them together, sometimes joined by a handsome man with black hair and strong, blue eyes.

And then something caught her eye. Martha picked up a picture lying on the table and studied it. The same blonde, but this time she was with the Doctor. He was wearing a red paper crown and the biggest smile Martha had ever seen and they both looked so happy.

Martha had just decided to snoop some more (she had spotted a passport lying on the bedside table), when a noise behind her made her flinch and turn around. It was the Doctor, standing in the doorframe looking completely blank.

"I was just looking around" Martha said. "Hope that's okay" she added. The Doctor still didn't move and Martha suddenly noticed she was still holding the picture in her hand.

"It's Rose's room" he finally said in a somewhat hoarse tone.

"Oh" Martha said and suddenly felt really stupid. "I didn't mean to…"

She didn't get to finish the sentence, as the Doctor cut her off. "Could you give me some privacy, please?"

"Yeah sure. I'll just be…" Martha realized he probably didn't care at all and left the room after having placed the picture back on the table.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid" Martha whispered to herself as she sat in her room. Not only had she managed to barge in and snoop around in Rose's room (unintentionally, but still), she had also been caught red handed by the Doctor. The look in his eyes, like she had slapped him across the face, was enough to make her feel nauseous.

She thought back to the girl in all the pictures. She looked so young, a kid really, and definitely too young for the Doctor. The few times he had talked about Rose, really talked about her, he had always made her seem so magnificent, like some great woman with immense knowledge, but all Martha could she was a teenage girl with peroxide hair and rather large teeth.

Martha sighed. She knew she was being unfair, but really, how else was she supposed to act? She was just as pretty as Rose (and even had normal sized teeth) and she was really smart as well, even training to be a doctor. Rose looked like she had barely finished primary school. How could someone like the Doctor be even remotely interested in her?

Martha had almost fallen asleep when there was a faint knock in her door and the Doctor entered. He looked tired and his eyes looked a little red. He sat down on her bed with a sigh.

"Martha, you have to patient with me."

"What do you mean?"

"When I met Rose, I was a different man back then. And Rose…" He got that distant look again. "Rose, she helped me get better, she was so human and yet so extraordinary and she didn't even know it. She was ready to give her life, so many times, for what she believed in."

"Did you love her?"

"I suppose I did, in my own way.""What happened? Why did she leave?"

"She didn't leave (his tone suddenly sounded defensive), she got stuck in an alternative dimension. She can never come back."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

The Doctor nodded. "I don't mean to compare, but she still means a lot to me. You just have to patient."

Martha nodded. "I really didn't mean to snoop, I was just waking around and saw the door. It's pink."The Doctor suddenly smiled. "She loved pink. All girly colours really. I had to help her paint the door. It was quite fun, actually, even though she completely ruined my favourite shoes."

Martha just smiled a little. She felt so jealous of the girl, even though it was petty and Rose couldn't even defend herself, seeing as she was stuck in an alternative dimension, whatever that was. But Martha really liked the Doctor, he was clever and funny and handsome and he never seized to impress and amaze her. Why wouldn't he just look at her and notice that she was right there, just waiting for him to get over Rose and finally be hers.


	5. Chapter 5

**Smiley faces**

It had taken a few days, but in the end Rose had gotten herself somewhat situated. Jack and Gwen had helped her find a small apartment not far from the Hub, and Jack had even bought furniture for her.

She liked working for Jack, he was like an older brother and the rest of the team was great people. She had gotten closer with Gwen, who had loosened up considerately when she found out there was nothing but platonic love between Rose and Jack (although Rose had chosen not to comment on that). Owen had definitely also won her over, he was smart and fun and not half bad to look at. Tosh and Ianto, on the other hand, were harder for her to get to know. Tosh seemed rather shy and Rose lived in constant fear that one day Ianto would simply poison her coffee. She hadn't asked Jack, but it was obvious something between the two of them was going on and now Ianto looked at her like she had destroyed whatever it was.

All in all Rose was as satisfied as she could be, given the situation. She still missed the Doctor and desperately hoped he would turn up whenever something alien happened in Cardiff, but Jack had explained that there hadn't been any signs of him, almost like he was avoiding their time and place.

"So, first mission with a new team. Exciting, huh?" Jack was practically bouncing off the walls in the conference room.

"Well, technically, it's an old team with a new member" Owen corrected.

"Still, very exciting" Jack said, although his smile was not quite as big now.

Rose sent him her biggest smiled. "Well I'm definitely excited" she said.

"Good! Giant bats!"

"Giant bats" Gwen repeated with a confused face.

"Yes! That's our mission. Giant bats" Jack said with a huge grin, like this was the best thing to ever happen to Cardiff. "There have been several sightings and well, nappings…"

"Nappings? Is that even a word" Rose asked.

"It is where I'm from" Jack answered. "But in our terms, the giant bats swoop down and grab a person and then fly off."

"With the person" Tosh asked in a concerned voice.

"Yes and it's not quite as endearing as when Myfanwy does it" Jack said.

"And the people?"

"Well I think it's safe to assume that they are not there just to keep the bats company" Owen said.

"So what, we go investigate and ask the giant bats to stop hunting people" Rose asked, somewhat new to all this. Granted, she had worked for Torchwood before, but that was in an alternative universe and things had been somewhat different there. Jack didn't answer.

The team arrived at an abandoned warehouse a couple of miles outside Cardiff. There had been some bickering in the car concerning space and body odours, to which Owen had just responded with an extremely childish behaviour and shoving Tosh out of the way to get to the front seat, but Rose didn't care, she was too excited.

"Are we even sure they are aliens" Gwen asked.

"Not entirely, but unless they've been eating fertilizer I don't see how they could be from earth" Jack said and loaded his gun.

The team was just about to enter the warehouse when they all noticed a red headed woman snooping around.

"Hey, who are you" Jack yelled.

The woman turned around with a surprised look on her face, which soon turned into a suspicious one. "Who the hell are you" she yelled back.

"Just what we need. A snotty reporter" Owen said.

"Oi, I ain't no snotty reporter, you twat" the woman said, coming closer. "I'm a temp!"

"Well unless you're a temp for Torchwood, you need to leave right now" Jack said.

"I ain't going nowhere. Heard a rumour about giant bats so I thought I'd check it out."

"Of course you did. What's your name?"

"Donna Noble" Donna Noble said. "Who are you?"

"Torchwood" Gwen said. "What, we'll retcon her later anyway" she said when the rest of the team looked at her.

"What is a temp doing here anyway" Rose asked.

"I'm looking for someone" Donna said.

"Pest control" Jack asked.

"No, just a man. Not that it's any of your business" she said in a defensive tone.

"I've scanned the entire warehouse. Six live forms inside, all appears to be alien! Tosh said.

Jack sighed. "Ianto, please call Donna Noble a taxi.""You can just forget about that, handsome. I ain't going nowhere."

"Look, this is going nowhere. Let's just retcon her and get on with this" Owen said in a bored tone.

"Let her come inside" Rose said. "It can't hurt and bats are nocturnal right, so they'll be sleeping."

"Ianto, call that cab. You" Jack pointed at Donna, "can have a peek and then you leave!" Donna just nodded and Tosh gently opened the door and one by one the team entered the warehouse.

From the ceiling hung six huge forms and there was a faint buzzing sound in the air. The team quietly walked around looking at the bats.

"Definitely alien" Jack said in a hushed tone.

"What are they" Ianto whispered.

"Bats. Just not from the earth bats" Jack answered.

"What do we do with them, send them back" Rose asked.

"No, not exactly" Jack said. "We kill them!"

"What?" Donna's voice sounded so much louder inside the warehouse and they all took a minute to make sure the bats hadn't awoken.

"But…. We should give them a second chance, help them…. We can't just kill them."

"Rose, they are parasites! Leeches! They're carnivores, they feed on other live forms. There is no place to send them back to!"

"But…. We can't just kill them like this!"

"Well, we could wake them up, have them chase us around for a bit, if that would make you feel better" Owen suggested.

"Owen, shut up. Rose, take Donna outside and wait for the taxu" Jack ordered.

Rose looked unhappy, but did as ordered and dragged Donna outside.

"Is he really going to kill them" Donna asked, as they sat down outside.

"Yes" Rose said, not meeting her eyes.

"How can you do this, this job?"

"You do what you have to do!"

"I suppose. But you're so young, all of you."Rose just shrugged. How was Donna supposed to understand any of this, Rose hardly understood half of it herself. The Doctor had always been about mercy and second chances, something Rose had loved the most about him, his great humanity despite everything. And she knew Jack wasn't like that, she had seen it with her own eyes, but she hadn't expected this! She closed her eyes as six shots disturbed the silence.

Jack exited the warehouse a few minutes after and went to fetch something in the jeep before walking over to the two woman. "Take this" he said and handed Donna a bottle of water.

"Are they dead" she asked.

"Yes." Jack watched carefully as Donna drank from the bottle. "Are you okay, Rose?"

Rose shook her head as tears slowly slid down her cheeks. "No..:"

"Rose, this is what we do…"

"What, we're pest control, is that it?"

"No, but we protect people from creatures like that. You can't talk to them, you can't reason with them."

"I need some peace" she said and walked over to the jeep.

Donna was just about to say something when a taxi pulled up. "Nice to meet you, Donna Noble. Stay out of trouble and make sure you finish the water" Jack said and slammed the door on the taxi shot and watched it drive away.

The team met outside the warehouse.

"Is she alright" Gwen asked and motioned towards the jeep where Rose sat in the backseat.

"No, but she will be. She's just used to a different approach" Jack said. "It will get better."

"Guys, the computer just picked up big rift activity in Cardiff" Tosh said, looking at her computer. "It's like something is forcing its way through."

"No rest for the wicked then" Owen mumbled.

"We better check it out" Tosh said and started to lock the coordinates.

"This is where it came through" Tosh said as Jack parked the car. "But it's been a while, so it could be everywhere!"

"Or it could be right over there" Jack said and pointed.

An older blond woman was standing in the middle of the huge parking space looking extremely out of place, especially since Jack knew for a fact she was supposed to be in an alternative universe.

"Oh my god" Rose almost screamed and flew out of the car. "MUM!" The woman turned and started to run towards Rose and they met in a clumsy embrace.

"What's going on" Gwen asked.

"Rose" a tall man suddenly yelled and joined the embrace.

"It's a bloody reunion" Owen mumbled.

Jack turned just in time to see and old acquaintance approach them. "Captain Cheesecake" the man greeted with a nod.

"Mickey Mouse" Jack responded without a smile. "What's this, your band of merry morons?" Jack motioned at the three men standing a few feet behind.

"Funny" the man said and looked at Rose and the two people embracing her.

"Why are you here? No, scratch that, _how_ are you here?"

"Rift manipulators" the man said and threw something at Jack.

"So we should expect the universe to collapse on us any second now?"

The man grinned. "Maybe later. Rose baby, how about some love?" Rose screamed and threw herself at the man.

"Will someone please explain what is going on" Gwen said in a loud voice.

Before Jack could say anything, the booming voice of Jacqueline Tyler filled the void. "Oi, you get the hell away from my daughter, you pervert!"

Jack looked at her with surprise. "Me?"

"Yes you, you freak. I've called the cops on you before, I'll do it again. Don't you dare touch my Rose!"

"Mum" Rose said in an embarrassed tone. "What are you on about?"

"He used to lurk around outside out apartment, watching you on the playground, trying to talk to you" Jackie said in an accusing tone. Jack suddenly looked very embarrassed.

"Is that true" Rose asked. She suddenly remembered a tall man comforting her after she had scraped her knee when she was five.

"After the game station, I was stuck. You and the Doctor had left me and when I tried to get back I ended in the 19. Century. So I just… Lived through the years and when I reached your timeline…." Jack smiled a little. "I missed you, so I went to the Estate a couple of times, just to check in. Your mum misunderstood the situation and called the cops on me!"

"This is all very nice, but could we please get an explanation" Owen said in a loud voice.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. Sorry for any mistakes, I don't have a beta, so I am to blame. I hope you will all review. A special thanks to the faithfull reviewers, who make me feel very happy. **


	6. Chapter 6

**I say a little prayer**

"Why are you here" Rose asked, tears still running down her cheeks.

"Well your father here" Jackie said and hit the tall man beside her on the arm, "went and shot the president, didn't he?"

"You what" Jack exclaimed.

"Jacks, I already explained this, Harry Saxon is not a human, he's an evil alien…""He was the bloody president and you shot him" Jackie screamed. "And now we're on the run, all because of you lot."

"But how are you here" Jack asked, clearly confused.

"Like I said" Mickey piped in. "It's dimension manipulators."

"Unfortunately they only last for two hours, max, then we get pulled back through again" Pete Tyler explained.

"So, what do you want us to do" Gwen asked.

"You need to open the rift completely. That way we can come through and stay" Mickey said.

Jack suddenly looked weary. "We can't do that!""Why not" Rose asked.

Jack sighed. Of course Rose wouldn't understand. "Because it's too risky. We open the rift, everything can come through, anyone. We can't control it."

"I don't care" came her swift answer.

"Look mate, I know it's dangerous, but we can't stay in the other world. We were already on the run when Mickey managed to get his hands on these" he indicated the disk in his hand. "If we go back we'll be executed!"

"I'm sorry" Jack said. "But it's too risky!""So we'll just send them back to be executed?" Rose yelled. "It's my family, we have to do something."

"We'll figure something out" Owen said. "We still have an hour or so, right?" Both Tosh and Pete confirmed. "Right, so maybe Tosh can work her magic?"

Jack finally nodded. "We go back to the hub. Ianto, call a taxi."

Rose had wanted to go with her family and friends, but there was no room in the taxi so she was forced to endure the ride back to the hub sitting next to Jack, who was scowling almost as much as she was.

Inside the hub introductions were made: Pete introduced himself as leader of Torchwood in the other world and Rose's alternative father, as well as his team which, besides Mickey, consisted of Jake, Duncan and Tim, who had been the one to carry over Rose's younger brother Tony. Jack then introduced his team and asked Pete to join him in his office.

"I understand your reluctance to open the rift" Pete said as he sat down.

Jack nodded. "That disk, is that how Rose got through?"

"No, she would have been pulled pack after two hours. We don't know what happened when Rose disappeared, but there was a lot of rift activity… To tell you the truth, I don't know if she's all Rose anymore" Pete said in a low voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Obviously I don't know her as well as Jackie, but I know what to look for. And Rose… There is something off about her. Sometimes it's like the air around her is electric and her eyes sorta glow. When she disappeared she was on a mission for me, she was investigating the president and we were worried that she had been made, because she was just gone one moment."

"She got hit by a car when she first came through, got a concussion and a few broken ribs, but she walked out of the hospital herself without problems and the broken ribs haven't affected her at all."

"Like I said, mate, something's off."

Tosh and Mickey had been working away at the computers for almost an hour when Mickey finally gave up. "It's useless. Unless the rift is opened we get pulled back in" he looked at his watch "fourteen minutes."

"So open the rift." They all turned to look at Rose. "Open it!"

"You heard what Jack said, it's too dangerous" Gwen tried to reason with her.

"I don't care, open the rift!"

Gwen looked at Tosh, who looked at Ianto who looked at Owen. "Oh, me? Right, well… We can't because, well…. It would be bad and Jack would be cross" Owen fumbled. Truth be told he was all for opening the rift, because seeing Rose in pain like this was worse than anything that might drift through the rift when they opened it.

"Owen please" Rose pleaded.

"Fine" he relented and started to find the necessary parts to open the rift.

"Owen! We can't do this" Tosh exclaimed. She really didn't like disobeying Jack and she absolutely hated the way Owen was affected by Rose.

"Like we have a choice. Are we gonna send them back to be executed" Owen argued. "Ianto give me a hand here."

Ianto sighed but gave Owen a hand anyway. He wasn't sure he actually liked Rose, he definitely didn't like what was going on between her and Jack, whatever it was, but looking at the six people, one of which was a two year old, he couldn't not do anything.

Gwen made a frustrated noise and started to help Owen and Ianto putting the pieces together and finally Tosh gave up and started to work on the computer.

"Three minutes" Mickey called, as Jack and Pete exited the office.

"What the hell is going on?"

"And the rift is open" Owen yelled and then it felt like all hell broke loose.

After seven harrowing minutes Jack finally managed to close the rift. It looked like a small hurricane had blown through the hub and even Myfanwy had flown off the safety.

Gwen got up on shaky legs and dusted some debris of her. "What the hell happened?"

"The rift happened" Jack yelled out in the room.

"Is everyone alright" Gwen called out and several voices answered with somewhat muttered "ok's".

"What the hell do you think you're doing" Jack yelled and pushed Owen.

"Would you seriously send them all back to be executed" Owen yelled back.

"It's not our call!"

"Then whose call is it? It's my family" Rose cried.

"And that's the only reason you did this?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Because it would seem like opening the rift is the quickest way to get him come crashing down here."

Rose looked at something behind Jack's head. "I didn't know that."

"Of course you didn't, you're just a silly shop girl, aren't you? But you can be sure he'll come looking now and I strongly doubt he'll be very happy we risked the entire universe to save your bloody mother!"

"OI" Jackie yelled, but was completely ignored.

"I don't care" was Rose's only reply.

"And what about the millions of people you just put in danger? Huh? What about them? For all we know a whole fleet of Daleks has flown right through and his taking over London as we speak! What you did was wrong! Now live with it!"

Big, fat tears fell down Rose's cheeks as Jackie hurried towards her daughter and hugged her. The rest of the two teams just looked as Jackie tried to comfort Rose and Jack stormed out, followed by a distressed looking Ianto.

The remaining people in the hub had silently spent a couple of hours cleaning up. Rose, Jackie and Pete had retreated to the board room to talk, while Jack had apparently decided to go awol, much to Ianto's chagrin.

Gwen sighed as her phone rang. "Hey Rhys, I'll be home in a couple of hours, yeah? No, nothing, just a…" She looked around. "It's just been a really long and confusing day. I'll see you soon."

"So I guess you two are done arguing all the time" Owen asked.

"I think we called a truce" Gwen said in a tired voice. "Do you think Jack will come back?"

"He did seem quite upset" Tosh said.

"He just need time" one of the newcomers chimed in.

"Mickey, was it" Gwen asked.

"Yeah, Mickey Smith. And don't worry about Captain Cheesecake, he probably just needs to cool down."

"You know him" Ianto asked.

"Yeah, met him when he travelled with Rose and the Doctor."

"The Doctor? What Doctor" Gwen asked, curious for anything that could tell her more about Jack.

"He hasn't told you about the Doctor? What about Rose, hasn't she said anything?"

"Well, she mentioned she travelled with a man that was a doctor…"

Mickey couldn't contain his laugh. "That man couldn't fix a bandage on a scraped knee if his life depended on it. Trust me, he was not an actual doctor."

"Mickey, can I talk with you for a minute" Rose called from the boardroom. Mickey nodded and hurried up the stairs.

"Well this is odd" Ianto said.

Gwen was just about to reply, when Tosh's computer started to beep. "What's that?"

"It's rift activity. Something's coming through, something big!"

* * *

**A question: Was it just me who got the impression that Weeping Angels was once Time Lords, from watching 'The End Of Time'? I just thought there were several clues through out both episodes, but maybe it's just me?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Policebells and church sirens**

"Call Jack" Tosh ordered and started to click away. "Oh god!"

"What, what is it?"

"It's awful" Tosh whispered and moved away so they all could see a blurred photo from CCTV of something that looked very much like a dragon.

The Doctor enjoyed the silence. He was sitting in the commander's seat with his eyes closed, just enjoying the silence. There hadn't been a lot of that since Donna Noble joined the TARDIS.

It had been a bit of a coincidence, the way they met again. After the whole business with the Family of Blood and everything poor Martha had been forced to endure, she had asked him to take him home for a few days, so she could visit her family and rest a bit. The Doctor, never one for family and rest, decided to investigate a new firm called Adipose and that was when he met Donna again. Apparently she had been looking all over for him, even as far as venturing into Wales, although she claimed only to remember her trip home. She had asked him about Rose, and although the Doctor had thought he had put that behind him, it felt like having both hearts ripped out all over again. Apparently Rose Tyler would always be with him, however he tried to make amends with the situation.

He had told Donna about Martha and she had laughed and called her "Mad Martha" when he mentioned that Martha seemed to fancy him. Their first meeting had been a bit awkward and Martha had struggled to accept that Donna would be travelling with them, but after their first trip, where Donna had saved Martha from a Stur with wandering hands, they had been getting along nicely. Although Donna still considered Martha a bit mad for fancying the Doctor.

"Doctor are you sleeping?"

The Doctor reluctantly opened his eyes and turned to look at Martha. "No, no… Just resting…"

Martha smiled. "It's quiet…"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, I was quite enjoying that."

Martha was just about to open her mouth when they were interrupted by a horrifying scream. The both turned and saw Donna, dripping wet and only wearing a towel, with a look of absolute rage in her eyes. "Who did this" she screamed at them.

Both Martha and the Doctor looked confused. "Did what" the Doctor asked gently, knowing all to well not to enrage Donna further.

"This" she shrieked and pointed at her forehead, where someone had apparently written something with a big, black marker.

The Doctor took a tentative step towards Donna and then almost fainted. Across Donna's normally empty forehead someone had apparently written 'Bad Wolf'. "Did you do this" he managed to stammer out.

"Of course I didn't do this, you imbecile. Why would I write something that stupid across my bleeding forehead? Why would I write ANYTHING across my forehead?"

"Does it mean something" Martha asked.

The Doctor nodded and swallowed. He found his sonic screwdriver and pointed at Donna. "Something is wrong" he muttered.

Donna, slightly put off by the Doctor's immediate change in posture, allowed him to "sonic" her, as she called it. "Am I alright?"

"Yeah…" The Doctor's voice was mumbled and it looked like he wasn't concentrating.

"Could you please concentrate on this, thank you very much" Donna screeched and startled the Doctor so much he dropped the screwdriver.

"Sorry, it's just…"

The Doctor didn't get a chance to finish, as the TARDIS suddenly lurched and started to shake.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Martha yelled and frantically grabbed hold of something attached to the TARDIS, while Donna almost flew through the control room and the Doctor yelled at the TARDIS.

"It's the rift, it's open!"

"The what" Donna yelled, having difficulty holding on to both her towel and one of the pillars.

"The rift. It's like…. Oh it doesn't matter. It's bad! And it's really bad that something wrote 'Bad Wolf' in your forehead!"

"Are we going somewhere?"

"Yes, Cardiff. I need to have a word with an old acquaintance of mine!"

"Okay, we go in teams. Ianto and Gwen, you go together, try to do some damage control. "Owen and Tosh are with me."

"What about us" Rose asked.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "I think you have done enough for now. You stay here until further notice.

"Oh come on" Mickey protested. "If there's a dragon on the loose, you're gonna need all the help you can get. And it's not like we're rookies."

"I don't care if you're certified dragon hunters, you stay here until I say so. Understood?"

Rose just nodded and was forced to watch as the rest of the team left. Gwen gently squeezed her arm. "He'll come around, don't worry." Rose just nodded and sat down, resigning herself to wait.

"Well this sucks" Jake commented.

"I say we go" Mickey said.

"Mickey, you heard what Jack said" Rose said.

"So? He's not the boss of me. Why should they have all the fun?"

"Fine, Mickey, Jake and I will go" Pete said.

"No way, I'm coming too" Rose interjected.

"Me too" Jackie said.

"Rose can come, Jacks, you have to stay behind and take care of Tony. Duncan and Tim will stay with you."

"Where do you think it came from" Gwen asked.

"The dragon?" Gwen nodded. Ianto shrugged. "Who knows? I don't think it's very important right now."

"No I suppose you're right" Gwen mumbled. "Doesn't seem like anyone has noticed, though?"

"Maybe they thought it was a plane?"

"Yeah maybe…. I feel bad for Rose."

Ianto sighed. "It was a difficult situation."

"Jack should have been more understanding" Gwen pointed out.

"Maybe."

"I like Rose, she's sweet and funny."

This time Ianto didn't even bother with an answer.

"What's this, then?"

Ianto looked where Gwen was pointing. A blue box was standing a couple of feet away from them. "It's a police box" Ianto replied.

"I can see that. But what is it?"

"It's probably from the fifties or sixties. You could trap someone in it or call the police from it. Very clever, actually."

"How do you know stuff like that" Gwen asked with an amused face. "I've never seen it here before, is it new?"

"Maybe it's art?"

"Art? An old police box as art?"

"Let's just look for the dragon, please?"

Donna was in a right state; they had been chasing the Doctor through most of Cardiff and she had a feeling her hair looked completely crazy, at least judging by the looks Martha kept giving it. "Could you just tell us what it is we're looking for" she asked and stopped. She hadn't even had time to get properly dressed or remove the stupid writing on her forehead.

"A man" the Doctor just said and started to "sonic" again.

"Of all the times to come out" Donna sighed.

"Come out? What are you talking about?" The Doctor had stopped so abruptly that Martha had run straight into him. "It's an old well… Friend, I suppose. His name is Jack Harkness and I have feeling he has something to do with this." The sonic screwdriver started to beep and the Doctor exclaimed a triumphant "AHA" and started to run, forcing Martha and Donna to follow him.

"This is hopeless. How are we going to find a dragon on foot? It's not like they are known for their great love of city strolls."

"Owen do us all a favour and just shut up" Jack growled. He couldn't believe Rose had disobeyed him like that, made his whole team disobey him. And now they had to catch a dragon and deal with Rose's crazy mother. Jack wasn't sure which he was least looking forward to.

"Captain Jack Harkness" a voice suddenly interrupted them.

Jack turned around and found himself face to face with a tall man wearing a pinstriped suit. "Yes? Do I know you? I'm sure I would have remembered ever spending time with someone like you" Jack replied, his trademark grin in place.

"Stop that. Which one of you opened the rift?"

"That would be me. I'm a twat" Owen replied.

"And Donna Noble, we meet again" Jack exclaimed and looked at Donna. "Why is 'Bad Wolf' written across your forehead?"

"I don't bloody know. And who are you ?"

"Let's save that for later, shall we" the tall man interrupted. "Something came through the rift."

"We already know that, thank you. Kinda hard to miss the giant dragon" Owen said.

"Dragon? What dragon? No, never mind, this is worse. Jack it's about… Rose!"

Jack noticed the man wasn't looking at them anymore, but something behind them and turned to look. There stood Rose, looking a bit like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Oh my god" Martha whispered, as Donna just looked confused.

"Rose…" Jack started, but was interrupted as Rose practically threw herself into the open arms of the man in the suit.


	8. Chapter 8

**It's not over**

"You're crushing me" Rose said with a smile.

"I don't care" the Doctor replied. "I'm not letting you go, Rose Tyler!"

Rose's smile widened and she closed her eyes. After all this time, he was finally here. "It's really you!"

"It's really me."

"What's going on" Donna's loud voice interrupted. "Who are these people? Why are you hugging that girl? And what was that about a dragon?"

"Captain Jack Harkness. And we've met, actually" Jack said.

"Are you going to let go anytime soon" Owen asked in a sour tone and looked at the man holding Rose in a tight grip.

"Wasn't planning on it" the Doctor replied without even looking at Owen.

Jack spotted Gwen and Ianto running towards them. "What's going on? Who's that man holding Rose" Gwen asked.

"I have no idea" Jack said. "Any luck with the dragon?"

"No" Ianto replied. "Apparently people will laugh at you if you ask them if they have seen a dragon in the last couple of hours."

"Who would've thought" Jack said. "I suppose introductions are in order, before we continue. I'm Captain Jack Harkness and this is my team, Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper ("Dr. Owen Harper!") and Rose Tyler. And we all know you, Donna Noble!"

"I'm Martha, Martha Jones" Martha said in a small voice. She had been hit on by Shakespeare, been stuck in both 1913 and 1969, fled from horrible beasts and shared a single bed with Donna for two days, but this was by far the most awkward and uncomfortable situation she had ever been in. And she figured it was mostly because of the blonde woman the Doctor was currently trying to squeeze the life out of.

"And I'm the Doctor" the Doctor said in a cheery voice, having finally let go of Rose (although having opted to hold her hand in a vice-like grip).

"No you're not" was Jack's instant reply. "The Doctor is all bald and grumpy and big nosed…"

"Oi! That was a perfectly fine nose, I'll have you know" the Doctor said in a indignant voice. "And it is me, just… A different me, a new me."

"A new you?"

"Jack, it's true, it's the Doctor" Rose said.

"What happened?"

"It's a long, complicated story. Well, it's not really that complicated, or long for that matter, but very interesting, I'm the hero of the story, actually. We'll save it for a rainy day, or a day without dragons, shall we?" Jack just nodded, looking dumbstruck. "So, let's figure this out, eh? Rose is here, in the right but wrong universe. You" he pointed at Owen "I'm sorry, I forgot your name, Ogden, was it? You opened the rift, which suggest you're not exactly the brightest. There's a dragon on the loose, which is bad, even in Cardiff, or especially in Cardiff, I haven't made up my mind yet, and the walls of the universe might be collapsing. Oh that's bad, we should definitely do something about that, end of the world and all. And…"

"DOCTOR!" Three female voices interrupted his tirade.

"Was I babbling again" he asked Rose in a hushed voice and she nodded. "And being rude."

"Yes that me, rude and not ginger. Never ginger!"

"Why don't we return to the important stuff, like the dragon. And it's Owen, Dr. Owen Harper" Owen sneered.

"Really, you're a doctor? And you still opened the rift? Bet you weren't top of your class. Where did you find these people" the Doctor asked Jack."Here and there" he responded. "Tosh do you think perhaps you could like scan the area above Cardiff, check if the dragon is still in the vicinity?"

"I… I don't know. I can try, but I don't think the dragon is going to be giving off any kind of signal the computer can pick up."

"How hard can a dragon be to find" Gwen asked in an exasperated tone.

"Well apparently quite hard, based on our luck so far" Ianto mumbled.

"It's probably gonna land soon. It looked like a Dracono Lapu, based on the picture. They're native to the Cirulu system, which has very low levels of oxygen."

"So it'll become short of breath, yeah? And be forced to land" Martha deduced.

"Very good, Martha Martha Jones" Jack said. "Question is when and where. Hopefully it will not land on anyone."

"Oh I know, it could like land in Scotland, yeah? In Loch Ness!" They all turned to look at Donna.

"Why would it do that" the Doctor asked.

"Well, because it's a dragon. Like the Loch Ness monster, you know. It would fit…"

"The Loch Ness "monster" is not a dragon" the Doctor said, "it's a waterbased life form from…"

"Yes, thank you, let's save that for later as well" Jack interrupted. "Rose, I'm guessing you didn't disobey me alone?"

"Sorry Jack" Rose said and looked shameful.

"Where are they?""They probably got lost. Mickey's only been in Cardiff once and there's no Cardiff in the other world."

"Mickey's here? Mickey the Idiot?"

"What 'till you here the rest; not only did our little Rose her manage to find her own way home, she also managed to manipulate these idiots into opening the rift so her mother, father, ex-boyfriend and three colleagues could cross over" Jack divulged.

"You did WHAT?" The Donna had never heard the Doctor's voice sound so squeaky, not even when she appeared out of nowhere in the TARDIS.

"It's a bit more complicated than that" Rose mumbled.

"I'm gonna get slapped" the Doctor said in a faint tone. "Your bloody mother is going to slap me! Again!"

"Doctor I hardly think this is important" Martha spoke up.

"You've obviously never been slapped by her!"

"There's been a sighting of the dragon" Tosh suddenly said. "A pilot spotted it above the harbour a few minutes ago."

"So where is it" Gwen asked. They were all standing on the docks looking around for any sign of a dragon.

"You would think a dragon would stand out" Ianto commented.

"Maybe it flew home" Donna suggested.

"It can't, it's home exploded five thousand years ago, so unless it found a way to open the rift, it's still around here somewhere" Jack explained.

"But… It'll suffocate! Because of the oxygen, it'll suffocate. Slowly" Martha said.

"That's awful" Donna said.

"It's a dragon" Owen almost yelled. "It's not gonna be all sweet and cuddly!"

"We can't just let it die" Donna said.

"Well unless you have spare room at home, we really don't have that many options."

Donna suddenly looked hopeful but the Doctor quickly shot her down: "No dragons in the TARDIS!"

"So what, we just sit around and wait for it to die" Donna asked.

"Maybe we could send it back" Tosh suggested.

"No, we're not opening the rift again, under any circumstances" Jack said and shot Rose a dangerous look.

"I don't think we have to" Ianto said, looking up. They all followed his lead and finally spotted the dragon, who was currently hurtling towards the open sea. They all managed to take a few steps back before the dragon hit the surface and created a huge wave.

"That felt oddly anti-climatic" Ianto said.

"We need to talk" the Doctor said and closed the door behind him.

Jack nodded and indicated the Doctor should sit down.

"Tell me about Rose!"

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**A/N: Thank you to all those kind people who have reviewed, favoured and alerted. Please know that it means a lot to me and I take your reviews to heart and appreciate them infinitely. And although it sounds silly, they do inspire me to write more, so please do review. Thank you for your time**


	9. Chapter 9

**Total eclipse of the heart**

Everything had been a blur to Rose, after the dragon had crashed into the sea. Jack had called someone and told them about the incident. Ianto had driven off to find Pete, Mickey and Jake. Donna had said a lot and the Doctor had said nothing. When they got back to the hub, the Doctor had opted to sneak inside with Jack, rather than walk in with the rest of them. Than Jackie had said a lot and Tony had started to cry. It had really been a long day. And now Rose sat at her desk, staring at the 'Bad Wolf' sign hanging over the couch. She didn't even notice Ianto leading Pete, Mickey and Jake inside or that Mickey tried to get her attention. It was like someone had turned on her auto-switch.

"She came through about two months ago. I don't know how, but I suspect she somehow used the rift. It took her a few tries, though, and obviously she didn't know what to aim for, as she appeared in the middle of the street and was hit by a car."

"Was she hurt?""Concussion and a few broken ribs, nothing life threatening. She healed fast, was able to walk out of the hospitable without help and never complained about pain." Jack noticed that the Doctor suddenly looked tired. "Before she came, the words 'Bad Wolf' started to appear. Like when we travelled together, you said that they followed you, like with Margaret the Slitheen and the Game Station. What does it mean?"

"Who knows?" The Doctor looked intensely at Jack. "When did you realise it?"

"Earth, 1892. Got in a fight on Ellis Island. Man shot me through the heart, then I woke up. Thought it was kind of strange, but then it never stopped: fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War I, World War II, poison, starvation, a stray javelin… In the end, I got the message. I'm the man who can never die, and all that time you knew." Well, that was one question answered right there: the Doctor full well knew about his "condition" and had chosen to do nothing about it.

"That's why I left you behind. It's not easy even just… just looking at you, Jack, because you're wrong.""Thanks."**"**You are. I can't help it. I'm a Time Lord. It's instinct, it's in my guts. You're a fixed point in time and space; you're a fact. That's never meant to happen. Even the TARDIS reacted against you when we landed, tried to take us through the whole time and space, just to get away from you."

"So what you're saying is… you're prejudiced?""I never thought of it like that.""Shame on you.""Yeah" the Doctor agreed with a small smile."Last thing I remember, back when I was mortal, I was facing three Daleks, death by extermination and then I came back to life. What happened?""Rose.""I thought you'd sent her back home.""She came back. Opened the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the time vortex itself.""What does that mean, exactly?"No one is ever meant to have that power. If a Time Lord did that, he'd become a god. A vengeful god. But she was human. Everything she did was so human. She brought you back to life, but she couldn't control it. She brought you back forever. That's something, I suppose. The final act of the Time War was life.""Do you think she could change me back?""Is that what you want, Jack?"

"Life has no meaning without death. I will keep on walking the earth while those around me die" Jack said and looked through the window in his office. Gwen was talking animatedly with Mickey the Idiot, laughing at something he said and making big hand gestures, like she was illustrating something to him. He suddenly felt envious.

"Would you die for her?"

"What?" Jack shook himself out of the funk.

"The brunette. Would you die for her, make yourself mortal so you could be together?"

"Would you do that for Rose?"

The Doctor smiled, but it looked sad. "I am mortal Jack, my lifespan just proceed many other's."

"That didn't really answer my question, though."

"No I suppose it didn't."

"Are you going to tell me what 'Bad Wolf' means?"

"I told you I don't know.""Yeah but you have a few good guesses, I'm sure."

"The Bad Wolf is Rose. She absorbed the time vortex, thus creating Bad Wolf. Left clues all though time and space for us leading to that very moment."

"There are files on you, Torchwood files. About you and your companions. The files on Rose was destroyed by a virus called 'Bad Wolf'. And Pete told me, just before Rose crossed over, she was working on a case that had brought her in danger. They feared she had been discovered.""So she came here… Well, I suppose it makes sense" the Doctor mumbled to himself. "She is protecting herself. By erasing the files on her and crossing over, she is protecting herself."

"From what?"

"That's the big question. Wait, how do you have access to Torchwood files?"

"Doctor, look around! You think this is just something we do on hobby basis? This _is_ Torchwood!"

"You work for Torchwood? After everything they've done, all the death and heartache and you're a part of it?"

"This isn't London, this is different, I swear!"

"And Rose, she works for you now? Here, at Torchwood?""

"We are different. The old regime was destroyed at Canary Wharf. I rebuilt it, I changed it, and when I did that, I did it for you, in your honour."

"I need some time to think" the Doctor said and left Jack's office.

"Rose are you alright?"

Rose looked up at Donna, who was looking worriedly at her.

"Yeah fine, just tired, I suppose. It's been a long day."

"A lot of running."

Rose smiled. She had moved from her desk to the couch, but she still felt weird. The reunion between her and the Doctor had been perfect, just like she had imagined it (and lord had she spent time imagining it), but now… He looked at her like she was a difficult puzzle he was trying to solve. And really, two women? He was travelling with two women, and the younger one kept looking at him like he was Christmas come early. "Yeah, a lot of running."

"But you must be so happy to have him back" Donna asked. She had a hard time containing her enthusiasm and overzealous joy. This was something out of a romance novel: the brave and kindheated (in plural, she reminded herself), but lonely time traveller was finally reunited with the love of his life, the young and beautiful woman who never gave up hope. And Donna honestly couldn't think of anyone who deserved this more than the Doctor.

"It's a bit more complicated than that" Rose sighed. She really wanted to talk to the Doctor, she needed to talk to him, but he had vanished inside Jack's office and had yet to come out.

"Oh he's just being a typical man. They're all like that, trust me. He's just a bit shocked right now, is all…"

Rose just nodded and looked at her mother, who was currently fighting with Pete. Jackie was livid at the moment, she had been ever since she had been told the Doctor was here and the fact that he was accompanied by two other women did nothing to cool her temper. Rose sighed again. Really, how were they ever going to sort this mess out. Something as simple as sleeping arrangement gave her a booming headache and when she noticed her mother walking towards her, she wanted to flee.

"You tell that space-man I want a word with him as soon as possible" Jackie said in a loud voice.

"Mum please" Rose said. "Keep it down, will you? Tony's asleep and there's a lot of people here, right now."

"I certainly will not! I have lost you so many times to that bleeding Time Twat and I've had enough. And now he's gallivanting around with two other women. Didn't take him long to get over you, eh?"

"Mum, stop it" Rose said in a loud voice. "Just stop it! You're just making everything worse. Just, shut up and sit down until Jack get's back so we can sort everything out." Jackie looked like she had been slapped in the face, but did as she was told.

After the Doctor had made his hasty exit, Jack had spent a little time trying to figure everything out, but after about half an hour he gave up.

"Could you all just gather around please" Jack called out in the main room of the hub and twelve people (Tony sleeping safe and sound at Gwen's desk) gathered around him. "I know it's been a long day and we're all tired, but we need to figure all this out. First off there's Jackie, Pete, Tony, Mickey, Jake, Duncan and Tim. You need a place to stay until we can find a more permanent solution. Then there's the rift; we need to make sure if the dragon is the worst thing that came through."

"We'll stay with Rose" Jackie said in a cold tone.

"But Rose is staying in the TARDIS, with us" Donna interjected. Both Rose and the Doctor opened and closed their mouths several time at this, but nothing came out.

"She most certainly is not" Jackie said. "And don't think you're getting out of explaining yourself to me" she said to the Doctor, who immediately took a step further away from her.

"We can't fit eight people into my apartment" Rose said.

"Why don't Rose stay with me tonight, her parents can stay at her place along with her brother, Mickey, Jake, Duncan and Tim can stay with Owen."

"Yeah? And where am I supposed to stay then" Owen asked.

"Oh, you can stay with me" Tosh immediately offered.

"Wonderful" Owen mumbled and fished out his key. "Don't touch my stuff and don't break anything!" he said and tossed them to Jake who just smiled back.

"Great, that's sorted out then. Doctor, I expect you to stay around for a while?" The Doctor just mumbled something unintelligible as an answer.

"So that's it, yeah? We just go back to the TARDIS and stay there" Martha asked. She had been quiet for a long time, trying to work it all out, but this situation was just too uncomfortable and weird for her to make any sense of.

"You're welcome to stay here, Myfanwy loves company, but the couch is horrible to sleep on" Jack said and Martha choose not to answer.

The group of people slowly started to break up. Rose handed over her keys to Pete and gave them directions and some emergency numbers, just in case. Owen wrote down his address and a Ianto called a cab for the group and before long they were on their way.

"We need to talk."

Rose turned around at the sound of the Doctor's voice. They were standing a little way's away from the rest of the group and she couldn't help but notice that he was standing very close to her. She nodded.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Obviously I don't anything, otherwise you'd be watching this on the tv, not reading it here.  
Oh my God, I'm so sorry for all the mistakes in the last chapter. I have just reread it and my toes are still curled, there were SOOOO many mistakes. Sorry about that, I don't have a beta, just a mallfunctioning spellcheck! And thanks to those who reviewed and were kind enough not to comment.**

**And sorry for being a complete airhead and posting the wrong chapter. Must be finals getting to me. Thanks to No1fanofalot who notified of my of this stupid stupid error!

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**Fight for this love**

"Honestly Tosh, we're not exactly making minimum wages. You couldn't find a better car?"

"What's wrong with a Fiat?"

"It's a Fiat!"

"It came highly recommended."

"So did syphilis!"

"Owen, please don't compare my car to syphilis." They sat in silence for a while, Tosh steering the car in the direction of her home. "Some day, huh?"

"Yeah, some day. I'm getting really tired of Jack's secrecy."

"I'm sure he has his reasons."

"Don't be naïve, Tosh. Jack likes to be in charge, that's the only reason he's leaving us in the dark."

"I don't think Jack would do that. He's a good person. And obviously he's upset about us opening the rift. His friend seemed upset about it as well."

"Who is that guy anyway? He was hugging Rose like there's no tomorrow."

"Are you jealous, Owen?""No, I just don't like when some stranger come waltzing in and pretends he owns the place.""He didn't do that. He seemed very nice and obviously him and Rose are old acquaintances. He's a doctor too."

"No, he called himself _"the Doctor"_ like it was some kind of posh title. Who does that anyway? I'd like to know what kind of doctor he is. Obviously not the real kind, like me"

Tosh sighed. "Owen, you're jealous. Do you really fancy Rose that much?""I don't fancy Rose!"

"Sure…. What about Gwen?"

"Her and Jack and Ianto are busy with their own little twisted triangle. I've removed myself from that mess."

"Why are you always like that?""Like what?""Never mind. We're here."

Rose has opted to stay behind when Gwen was ready to go. To be honest, it didn't look like Gwen wanted to go home either. She had been fighting with Rhys yet again and by now it was almost like their default setting was to yell at each other. And Rose had a feeling Gwen wanted to just forget about her troubles with a bottle of Jack and a shag from Jack, probably in that order. Rose decided to let it go for now, she and Gwen were really not that close yet, so Rose didn't feel like it was her place to comment, and she had her own problems to worry about as well.

"You wanna go back to the TARDIS?"

The Doctor nodded at this. "We'll take a detour; I really don't feel like involving Donna in this."

"How did you meet them? Donna and Martha?"

"Just sort of happened. Donna somehow managed to transport herself into the TARDIS after…" He closed his mouth and swallowed the words. "And Martha was working in a hospital that ended on the moon."

"The moon?"

"Yeah it was great fun. Although I lost a pair of shoes and my sonic screwdriver had to undergo some serious reworking."

Rose nodded. They were walking slowly through Cardiff but both were careful not to touch each other and the small talk was painful, but neither knew how to start the conversation properly. Oddly enough, it was the Doctor who took the first step. "So you work for Torchwood now?" It was meant to be a question, honestly, he tried to make it sound like one, but it came out more like an accusation anyway.

"Never really stopped, I suppose. Worked for Pete in the other world.""This is a different kind of Torchwood" the Doctor commented. He felt a little betrayed by both Jack and Rose, but mostly Rose, seeing as Jack would obviously never change his ways. Torchwood had been the cause of so much evil in this world, they had made it impossible easy for both the Daleks and Cybermen to just walk (roll) in and take over this world and they had ripped him and Rose apart and for that he was not sure he could ever forgive them. And here was Rose, working for the very same institution that had separated them and was all about killing aliens instead of helping and understanding.

"It's not, really. Jack did a great job of rebuilding. Torchwood one, the one in London, it's dead, so to speak. And despite your thoughts, Jack did learn something from you. It's not just about hunting aliens (okay, not exactly true, she reminded herself, but she didn't really think the truth would help her case with the Doctor)." When the Doctor didn't answer, she continued. "And they're good people, they've been good to me. Jack has been good to me…"

"How did you come through the rift?"

Rose was taken aback by both the change in subject and his bluntness. "I don't know. It was weird, like it was two places at the same time. It just sort of happened, I suppose."

A thoughtful "hmm" was the Doctor's only response.

"Do you know why it happened" she asked. Honestly, she already knew, or at least she had a strong idea about it, but she wanted to hear the Doctor's theories before she divulged her own. And then there was the whole "how is he going to react" thing, she didn't even want to think about that. Things had been so simple when she was just a nineteen-year-old shop girl and the Doctor was just a big-eared two-hearted alien who had blown up her workplace. She found herself missing those days. Now she was a twenty-something half-human with really weird "powers" (she didn't even know if that was the right word) and a title and he was a handsome two hearted alien with severe commitment issues.

"No" he just said and kept walking.

"Why are you acting like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like the biggest prat on this side of the moon?"

"I am not!"

"You so are! If you're mad just tell me."

"Fine, I'm mad!" They were almost yelling at each other now.

"Why? Because I'm doing something for my self for once?"

"Because what you're doing is wrong!"

"It's the same bloody thing that you do, you idiot!"

The Doctor looked away. "Torchwood is wrong!" His voice was low and forced calm.

"Then tell me what is right."

"I can't…"

"It's not fair.""What?"

"This, us, you judging me! It's not fair. I didn't ask for this, I wanted to be with you, I told you I love you and now you're just…." Rose sighed. This was going nowhere and yelling at the Doctor didn't even feel remotely as satisfying as it ought to be.

"Rose, I don't know what to do about any of this. What you did was wrong, everything! When you crossed over you endangered both worlds and by opening the rift, well, who knows what will happen? That dragon might be the least dangerous thing that came through!"

Big tears started to roll down Rose's cheek but she didn't care by now. "I can't believe you're saying this!"

"What did you expect? This is hard for me too, but it doesn't change what you did was stupid and selfish. And that's not the Rose I knew!"

"Maybe I changed?" She angrily wiped a tear away. "Maybe I had too! Things were different in the other world and I changed.""And look at what you changed into! A blonder version of Jack!" The words were barely out of the Doctor's mouth before Rose's hand connected with his cheek. "Rose" he called as she started to walk away. "Rose, I'm sorry."

She stopped. She wanted him to be sorry, so badly, but she wasn't sure if he really was or if he just didn't like fighting with her.

He caught up with her and gently stroked her cheek. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too" she said and looked at his right cheek that was turning redder by the minute.

"You certainly are your mother's daughter" he said and smiled at her. He took her hand and they silently walked back to the TARDIS.

They snuck inside because the Doctor didn't want to wake up Martha and Donna, although he had a feeling Donna was probably sitting in her room with a glass to the wall, trying to pick up any kind of conversation between him and Rose. She really was the most nosy and intruding woman he had ever met, Jackie included.

"It feels weird to be back" Rose said as she gingerly sat down on the captain's seat.

"Good weird of bad weird" the Doctor asked.

"Good weird, definitely" she answered with a smile.

He sat down next to her and took her hand and for a while, they just sat there in silence, not looking at each other, although Rose did notice that they were both moving closer and closer to each other.

"This is nice, yeah?"

"Yeah" he agreed. "The TARDIS is glad to see you."

"Oh good. I was worried she would forget about me.""Forget about the one who tried to paint her pink all over? Never!" They both laughed and when Rose turned to look at him, their noses almost touched. Really, it was inevitable that their lips met soon after that.

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**Like? Love? Hate (I hope not, but if you do, sorry for wasting your time)? Please leave a review, I live for those. And yes, I do realise that is extremely sad, but I'm currently (pretending) to study for my finals and my life has little to no meaning right now (my new best friend is a book called 'European union politics'). So please do leave a review, as it will make my sad life better and boost my low selfesteem (exams always brings out the worst in my). Oh, and if you're like an expert on european union politics, please feel free to drop some wisdom on me!**


	11. Chapter 11

**You just keep me hanging on**

Donna was sitting in the kitchen enjoying her breakfast and a cup of tea, when Martha stumbled inside looking like she had been roughed up on the way.

"Well don't you look nice this morning" Donna noted.

"Shut up" Martha grumbled and sat down. "I barely slept last night, the TARDIS kept making this insane sound. How did you manage to ignore it?""Ear plugs. My last fiancé snored like a bear."

"Donna, is this yours?" Martha held up a shirt lying discarded on the floor.

"Do I look like I shop in the kiddies section?"

Martha chose not to answer that. "Well, who's it then?"

"Who around here wear shirts that size, hm?" There's a shoe over there as well."

Martha turned and Donna was right. One of the Doctor's sneakers was lying over by the fridge. "What the hell happened last night?"

"Judging by the bra lying outside the library I'd say the Doctor had a visitor" Donna said and sipped her tea. She didn't mean to be intentionally mean to Martha, but the girl really needed to open her eyes and realize that her crush on the Doctor was never going to amount to anything more than that. He was simply too caught up in Rose to ever even look at Martha in any kind of romantic way.

"You're kidding me?"

"Nope. I'm guessing someone's going to be doing the walk of shame soon."

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"Jack do you have a moment?"

Jack looked up as Ianto closed the door to his office behind him. "Sure, what's up?"

"I just… I wanted to talk… To you!"

"Alright, well then you came to the right place. What do you want to talk about."

Ianto suddenly got a pained expression on his face. "I well… I wanted to talk about this. Us!"

"You wanted to talk about us?"

"What are we?"

"We are people, Ianto! I'm your boss and you're my employee."

"Is that all?""Is that not enough?"

"So these past weeks…. What was that?""Fun" Jack said with a smile.

"Fun? You think this is fun?"

"You don't?""No! Seeing you and Gwen sending each other looks across the table in meetings and you and Rose holding hands! And now this Doctor, you act like he's your long lost love! Is he?"

"No of course not" Jack said, but it didn't sound as convincing as he had hoped. "He's just… a guy."

"Don't lie to me" Ianto spat. "It's obvious he's more than that. This is just… to much! You want me but you don't want me? And I'm stuck in this limbo-like place, wondering if you're ever going to come around. You just keep me hanging on! Be a man about it, let me go then! If you don't want me let me find someone else!" Before Jack could respond, Ianto had stormed out the office, slamming the door, leaving a stunned Jack behind.

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Owen was in an even worse mood than usual, when he and Tosh finally arrived at the hub (an hour earlier than Owen usually showed up). "All I'm saying is; we don't know these people, we shouldn't just trust them.""Jack knows them, and Rose. Isn't that enough for you?" Owen had been complaining ever since they left the hub the day before and Tosh was starting to get really annoyed. She liked Owen (a lot, if she was honest), but she wished he would just shut up for a second

"Ianto" Owen yelled. "Ianto!"

"I'm not a dog" Ianto sneered as he walked into the main room.

"You take orders well enough. Find out what a TARDIS is."

"Owen! He's not your personal assistant. Do it yourself" Tosh said and gave Ianto a sympathetic look.

"I got stuff to do and how long does it take to make coffee" Owen defended himself. "It'll give him something to do."

Ianto sighed. "I'll check it out" he said and walked away.

"See" Owen said to Tosh. "That's a good dog" he yelled at Ianto's retreating form and received a middle-finger salute in return.

"Good morning" Gwen greeted as she entered the hub.

"You look like shit."

"Why thank you Owen, that was just what I needed to hear" Gwen said and slapped the back of his head. "Twat!"

"What happened? Don't tell me Rose snores?""Well I wouldn't know, seeing as Rose opted to stay behind with mystery man. Rhys on the other hand, snores like a rhino and we had another fight.""Again?"

"Again! It's unbearable. He just won't let the whole "new job, new hours" thing go and he keeps accusing me of having a thing for Jack.""Oh" was Tosh's only response. Rhys wasn't exactly the smartest guy in Cardiff, but somehow he had managed to read Gwen's attraction to Jack like an open book.

"Did you find out what a TARDIS is" Own asked, as Ianto entered the main area again.

"Turkey And Relish Diner In Surrey" Ianto said.

"Turkey And Relish Diner In Surrey" Owen repeated.

"Try: Time And Relative Dimension In Space" Rose offered as she entered the hub.

"Yes, that does actually sound better" Ianto said.

"You look worse than me" Gwen noted. "Rough night?""Shut up" Rose mumbled and gingerly sat down.

"Feeling a bit sore, are we?" Gwen couldn't contain her laughter.

"No, just… Tired" Rose said, but her red cheek's gave her away. "My mum's not here, is she?""No, none of your lovely relatives have shown up" Owen said. "So what does it mean, "Time And Relative Dimension In Space"?"

"It's like a time machine, only sort of a spaceship as well.""Seriously" Tosh asked.

"So this Doctor, he's like what? A time traveller" Ianto asked.

"In a way, yeah" Rose said. "Where's Jack?" Ianto promptly left the room at the mention of him.

"What's up with him" Gwen asked.

"Don't know" Tosh said. "Jack is probably in his office."

"Are you alright, though?"

Rose turned to look at Gwen. "Yeah it's but been a really weird day."

"It's seven thirty" Tosh said.

"Weird morning, then!"

"Did you and mystery man get it on all night?"

"No, more like all morning." At the shocked looks on Tosh and Gwen's face, Rose corrected herself. "We fought, again. He's a complete idiot. He keeps berating me for working for Torchwood and acting like he's so above me. He just keep me hanging on, hoping he'll come around and change, but he never does."

"But just so we're clear, he is the guy you were talking about, right? The guy that was older and was a doctor, of sorts" Gwen asked.

Rose sighed and rested her head on her desk. She really didn't function well on three hours of restless sleep. "Yeah" she mumbled form her position. "Sorry I lied."

"Good morning everyone" Jack greeted them. "And Gwen and Rose, don't you two just look…. Special."

"You guys suck" Gwen said.

"Rose, I just had a chat with that lovely mother of yours. They'll be coming around shortly so you might want to get yourself sorted out?"

"Yeah, thanks for the warning" Rose said and left for the bathroom. If she looked anything like she felt right now, her mum was going to question her about it until the end of time.

"What are we going to do about them" Tosh asked. "They're not staying here, are they?" Tosh didn't mean to be rude, but Rose's mother was actually quite horrible.

"Fear not, I have an idea. I'll need to talk to Pete about it, but it's a pretty great idea, if I have to say so myself."

"What is it?"

"Pete used to run Torchwood in his own world and well, we haven't found anyone to take over Torchwood one in London."

"You want them to run Torchwood" Owen asked. "No offence, but they seem like complete imbeciles!"

"Why anyone find you offending is a mystery to me" Jack said to Owen. "Pete is actually quite clever, and Mickey as well…""You call him Mickey the Idiot" Gwen interrupted.

"Yeah, 'cause he is, but that doesn't mean he's not clever" Jack explained. "Just try to play nice when they all get here, thank you."

"They better not have touched any of my stuff" Owen grumbled.

* * *

Jack was sitting down on the harbour, just looking at the surrounding sights. The hub was complete chaos right now and it was starting to get to him. He didn't consider himself a control freak, not like the Doctor who definitely had a problem with letting go, but he liked being in control of things, especially the hub and his employees. And right now he felt like he didn't have control of anything and it annoyed him to no end.

"Enjoying the view?"

"I am now" Jack said with a smile as the Doctor sat down next to him. "Did you have fun last night?" He noticed how the Doctor's ears seemed to redden.

"Had a talk with Rose.""Just a talk?"

"Let's leave at that, shall we? I'll be leaving soon, I think.""You're leaving?""Yeah I'm not really one for domestics. Staying in the same place to long, it's not my style."

"So what? We're cramping your style" Jack asked.

"Something like that" the Doctor laughed.

"And Rose?""Rose will be staying.""Does she know that?""I think she does. In the end it was her choice."

"Somehow I find that hard to believe.""You can believe what you want, Jack, it doesn't really matter. Rose is a different person now, maybe I am too. So many things have happened."

"So that's it? You just up and leave with Martha Martha Jones and Donna Noble?"

"What's wrong with Martha and Donna?"

"They're not Rose" Jack said in a deflated tone and got up and left.

* * *

Rose was standing outside the hub, wondering if she should perhaps take up smoking or something like that, to calm her nerves, when the Doctor suddenly stood beside her.

"So this is it, yeah?"

"Unless you change your mind" he said, neither of them looking at each other.

"Why don't you change _your _mind?"

"You know I won't." She just nodded. "I do care about you."

"Yeah? You just don't love me."

"But I care. Isn't that good enough?"

Rose shook her head. "It's not enough. I want you to…. I want you to trust me, I want you to love me, be able to tell me that you love me. I want to know your name, know _you_, the real you! I want to hold your hand when you feel pain and I want you to trust me enough to share your sorrow…."

"It's not that easy, Rose. I can't change just like that."

"Not even for me?"

"No."

"That's not good enough" Rose said, tears falling down her cheeks. She finally turned to look at the Doctor and opened her mouth, but in the end chose not to say anything and just walked away.

The Doctor was left standing on his own, tears threatening to fall as well. They had fought that morning, again, about the fact that he couldn't fully commit to Rose. She had asked him to stay in Cardiff for a while, begged him to stay, because she couldn't just leave her family and friends after everything that had recently happened. And she felt responsible for taking of anything that might come through the rift, she needed to help with that. It had turned ugly after that. Rose so desperately wanted him to trust her and he wanted to, he really wanted to. It was just…. So hard for him, after so many years on his own and it was so overwhelming to have Rose here again that perhaps he was still a bit shocked. It was too much too soon and now… "It's over now" he whispered to himself.

* * *

**AN: Thank you so much for the reviews, favourites and alerts for the last chapter. You guys are awesome It definitely brightened my dark mood, so please keep it up! Oh and I should mention this story is in fact going somewhere (the ending is already done) and there is a point to all this.**


	12. Chapter 12

**It's over now**

It had been three hours, twenty-five minutes and five seconds (six, seven, eight…) since the Doctor had left and yes, Rose was most certainly counting. She wasn't sure if she was regretting her decision to stay, but she definitely felt unhappy about the whole thing. She had obligations here, her family was here and oh god she had made a mistake! No… NO! She had made the right choice, she was older now, wiser, a different person and she needed the Doctor to realize that this one-sided relationship didn't work for her anymore. She had chosen him so many times, without getting anything in return, and now that she needed him to show her it had not been in vain, he had failed.

Rose was so caught up in her internal ramblings that she didn't even notice Gwen sitting down next to her. "We've been looking for you."

"Sorry" Rose mumbled.

"Nah it's okay, better than watching Jack and your mum fight.""They're fighting?"

"Oh yes!" Gwen put her aim around Rose. "So he really just left?"

"Something like that. He was disappointed in me" Rose said and rested her head on Gwen's shoulder.

"I'm sure he wasn't. It's definitely been a weird couple of days, maybe he just need time to let it sink in. Then he'll come around, you'll see.""I don't think so Gwen. He's so stubborn and we both said some pretty nasty things."

"I'm sure it's not that bad. You can tell me about him, if you want? He seemed like a nice man, not as old a I imagined. And handsome."

"He is nice, just… Stubborn. And rude, he's so rude sometimes. But really smart, like out of this world smart. With great hair."

"Really great hair" Gwen agreed with a smile.

"Maybe we should go back to the hub? I don't want my mum killing Jack. What are they fighting about anyway?""Jack offered your dad a job."

"Really?""Yeah, Torchwood one, in London, it's never really been rebuild. Jack offered the job to Pete, but now you're mum's furious because she feels it too dangerous.""Sounds like her."

"Tosh is working on creating ID's for them. Obviously the whole lot of you are either dead or not existing, so it's going to take her a little time, but she'll get it done.""Poor mum. All her life, she's lived the same place. All her friends were there, her whole life, and now she can never go back.""Same for you" Gwen noted.

"I gave that up years ago. Gave up everything to be with the Doctor. It didn't even matter. But it's going to be hard for mum, never going back."

"She'll manage, don't you think? You Tylers sound like survivors to me."

* * *

When Rose and Gwen returned to the hub things seemed to have cooled off. Jackie was nowhere in sight and Rose figured Pete and Jack were discussing specifics in Jack's office. Mickey was annoying the hell out of Owen and Jake, Tim and Duncan were playing foosball.

"Rose are you alright? Your friend came by a couple of hours ago and said goodbye" Tosh said.

"Your mum gave him one hell of a slap" Owen said and grinned like a madman. "Then she yelled and called Martha and Donna tarts."

"Oh god" Rose grumbled.

"Then Jack had to intervene and then she slapped him. Twice" Tosh said.

"Pete and Mickey had to hold her back while Jack and the Doctor kept Donna at bay. Things were quite feral" Ianto said and handed Rose a cup of tea. It was perhaps the first time he had been nice to her.

"Captain Cheesecake yelled at the Doctor for a while and then they left and since then it's been really quiet" Mickey piped in. He took in Rose's sad state and her swollen eyes. "Told you he was just like any other guy, Rose."

"Mickey shut up" Jackie's voice boomed through the hub. Rose barely managed to turn around before she was enveloped in a hug. "I'm so sorry, dear" she whispered and that was the final straw for Rose, who completely broke down.

* * *

It took Rose three days to finally get out of bed. She felt a smidgen of pride at that, it was less than half the time it took her last time. Jackie and Gwen had been camped out in her living room in those days, taking turns in lying in the bed with her, just staring at the ceiling, sometimes watching reruns of Trisha and EastEnders. Jack came by a few times, mostly just to talk in hushed tones with Gwen. Owen had stopped by once, but left shortly after because he didn't know what to say. Tosh visited the second day and stayed for three episodes of EastEnders and dinner. Pete and Mickey had both been kicked out by Jackie when they told Rose that the Doctor was just another stupid bloke and she just needed to get out there again. The most surprising had been Ianto's visit the third day. He'd brought food and made them all tea and pie and sat through a couple of episodes of Trisha with Rose, laughing at the ridiculous people on the show. After that, Rose had decided it was time to get up (Ianto had told her she had started to smell a bit stale).

"You feel better, sweetheart?"

"Yeah mum. Thanks for staying over. You too, Gwen" Rose said.

They were all sitting around her small dining table eating ships. Rose had spent the better part of an hour in the shower while Gwen went for food and Jackie had cleaned out the apartment.

"Don't mention it" Gwen said and smiled. "It was nice to get a break from World War III going on at home."

"Are you and Rhys ever going to work this out" Rose asked. Honestly she wondered why Gwen was wasting her time with a guy who obviously would never understand her lifestyle, but Rose also knew she was being hypocritical; after all, she had spent the last five years pining away for a man who refused to define their relationship and had dumped her after…""Rose, are you blushing?"

Rose turned to look at her mother with a weird expression. "No, no… Am I?"

"You look all flushed. What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing, must be because I'm tired" Rose said and faked a yawn.

Jackie nodded and started to clear the table, but Gwen gave her a light slap on the arm. "You've been sleeping for the better part of the three days! You were thinking about the Doctor! Tired my arse!"

"Shut up" Rose grumbled, but couldn't hide a small smile before getting up.

* * *

"Just tell me again!"

"Donna, I have told you five times already.""But I don't understand it.""Then you probably never will" the Doctor sneered and gave the TARDIS a hard whack with the hammer.

"Don't you be all rude with me, space boy! Explain why Rose isn't here right now!"

"Because she didn't want to, okay? She didn't want to come!"

"I don't believe that for one second" Donna retorted.

"You can believe whatever you like" the Doctor answered and vanished underneath the controls.

"But… This isn't how it's supposed to happen" Donna argued. She had expected the Doctor and Rose to fill up the TARDIS with lovey-dovey talk and make-out sessions, not a very sudden departure from Cardiff (her coat was still lying on Owen's desk in the hub) and a constantly scowling Doctor. The only one who seemed to be happy about this whole mess was Martha, who Donna had sent away because she kept grinning like she was the bloody Mad Hatter or something.

"That's usually how it goes in my life" the Doctor mumbled from his position.

"I thought you wanted to be with her" Donna said in a sad voice.

"Sometimes that's just not enough!"

"But what does that mean, it's not enough? You love her! How can that not be enough?""It just isn't. Can't you go bother Martha instead?"

Donna decided to let that one go, because it was obvious the Doctor was quite distressed about the whole situation. Ever since their departure he had been sneering at both her and Martha, hammering away at the TARDIS, sometimes yelling at it in some weird alien language, yelling at her in some alien language, yelling at other aliens in an alien language… He had not been himself ever since and Donna didn't understand what could possibly have happened between him and Rose to make the blonde choose to stay behind. "Did you ask her to come along?"

"Yes" he answered in an exasperated voice. "She wouldn't. Can you please just leave it?"

"Why didn't you stay there, then?"

She could hear him sigh. "Donna, please… It's not that simple. A lot has happened and… I can't just stay in Cardiff because Rose wants to be with her mother.""Why not?"

"Because…. I just can't. Rose is a different person now, we are both different persons now…""You want to know what I think" Donna asked.

"Not really" the Doctor said, but Donna just ignored him.

"I think it was easier for you to love Rose when she was stuck in that other world. It was easier, because you didn't have to do anything about it, you didn't need to. And now it's hard, because she's here and she wants you to tell her how you feel, but you're scared. You're so scared to just let go and take a chance, to love someone and truly let them inside."

The Doctor emerged from underneath the controls and it was perhaps the saddest she had ever seen him look. "Rose will die… Some day, Rose will die. She will wither and she will die and if I stay, I'll be forced to watch that. I can't do that, Donna. I've lost so much already, I can just stand by and watch Rose…" He choked on the last word and Donna felt a small part of her own single heart break as she sat down beside him and just let him cry about all the misery in his life.

* * *

**AN: I passed my exam! Yay! I even managed to get a pretty decent grade, which completely surprised me. Thanks for the reviews (and a speciel thanks to those who were kind enough to wish me good luck with my exam, obviously it worked!), as always it brightens my day and lifts my mood, so please keep them coming as I pretty much live for them (so sad, I know).  
About the story, it's going to get bad before it get's good, so I hope you will all stay with me, even if I am horribly cruel to Rose and the Doctor right now. Oh, and I question, because I'm super curious: What did you think of the end of season 4 and Rose ending up with duplicate Doctor? I felt sort of sad about it, but on the other hand it was probably the happiest ending Rose could get**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Obviously and unfortunately not mine

* * *

**

Standing in the rain

Harry Saxon was a patient man. He had spent ten years building a life for himself (albeit a fake one), even going so far as to marry poor Lucy Stone and starting his own business. He quite liked his little human life, playing the part of devoted husband and dedicated business man, although it was nothing like his former life. Here he was safe, hidden away from his past and the rest of his kind, playing with the stupid apes like they were pieces in a chess game.

He liked this world, everything about it appealed to him, except of course that blasted Torchwood Institute, run by Pete Tyler. He had been involved in the whole Cybermen incident, as had many others (including Harry himself), but unlike most, Pete Tyler had managed to rise from the ashes victorious and as a national hero. He and that insipid wife of his had even reunited and procreated.

Torchwood was investigating him, he knew that much already, even before he had gone into politics. Pete Tyler was apparently quite a suspicious man and he didn't trust Harry further than he could throw him (he had said so himself at a party). This posed quite the problem for Harry, who was reading himself to be the next President, but with Torchwood as a potential enemy this would be almost impossible. Barely a year after Torchwood has launched its (secret) investigation into his life they had become the very centre of his frustration and hate!

It seemed Harry's only true joy was a young woman, Johna Smith, who he had met accidentally, when she emptied a glass of red wine on his favourite jacket at a party for the current President, one Harriet Jones. Johna was pretty, a bit blonde, but pretty nonetheless, and smart. Oh she was not book clever, but she was so smart that Harry had been infatuated the minute she opened her mouth. They started to spend time together, when Harry wasn't at the office. He knew he wasn't supposed to let some silly girl deter him from his goal, but he just couldn't help himself, Johna was… well, just perfect, really! She even believed him when he spoke of the greater galaxy and the fact that humans were not the only ones out there. Johna told him about her rather unusual name (her father wanted a boy so bad and when she was born a girl she was named Johna instead of John), her upbringing with a distant mother and an even more distant father and how she didn't feel anyone understood her besides him.

It wasn't until later Harry truly understood how easy it had been for Rose Tyler to play him for a fool. He had discovered her true identity purely by accident; her mother had left a voicemail on her phone and that had been all he needed to know. He had been beyond furious after that and ready to deal with her, but somehow she had managed to escape his grasps. Actually, it was like she had just disappeared into thin air. Later he would learn the truth, but not before Pete Tyler emptied his gun into Harry's chest and left him for dead in his office and then disappearing as well.

He had kept his human name, Harry Saxon. It suited him and he had grown attached to it. He didn't appreciate having to start over in a new dimension, but he knew a second chance when he saw one and this was his opportunity to get revenge. Currently he was standing outside a small apartment complex, apparently the new home of Rose Tyler. He had been able to sniff her out, her scent was unlike any other's. But there was something else that worried him, something that made him cautious in taking action; a distinct smell of Time Lord was practically surrounding the complex, the whole city actually, and it confused Harry to no end. So for now he resigned himself to following Rose Tyler and hoping she would bring about some clues that could shed light on the situation.

* * *

"We should go out.""Gwen, I'm not going out" Rose said for the fifth time.

"Why not, a girls night out is just what we need" Gwen said. "Isn't that right, Tosh."

"I really don't care" came Tosh's rather uninterested answer.

"Look at the two of you. You look like old ladies, just sitting here waiting for death to come and claim you. All you need is something to knit."

"Actually, it is getting colder, I could use a scarf and some mittens" Rose said.

"Would you listen to yourselves? This is pathetic. I bet the boys are out, right now, having fun!"

"Then go join them" Rose argued. "We're busy wallowing in our own self pity." Tosh nodded in agreement.

"Oh come on, it'll be good for us. Go out, get drunk, dance dirty on the bar tables…"

"Will it make you shut up" Tosh asked in a tired voice.

"Yes!"

"Fine, fine…. We'll go" Rose said.

"But I'm not taking my top of this time" Tosh said as they left Rose's apartment.

"This is… Nice." Rose sounded unsure as she looked at her surroundings. The bar was the seediest place she had ever been and that was saying something for an estate-girl.

"Owen comes here sometimes" Tosh said and sipped her beer. She really wasn't a very strong drinker and she had to be careful with the amount she consumed. Rose and Gwen, on the other hand, were working on their third beer and Gwen had just ordered them a round of shots.

"When are you going to do something about your crush on him" Gwen asked and swallowed half her beer.

"I… I don't have a crush on Owen" Tosh spluttered, which caused Rose to break into a loud laugh. When both Gwen and Tosh shot her dirty looks she turned her gaze to her beer and mumbled a quiet "sorry".

"Tosh, really, it's obvious that you fancy him…"

"And I think it's also quite obvious that the feeling is not returned" Tosh said and suddenly felt the need for alcohol to manage through this conversation.

"What do you mean" Rose asked.

"Owen apparently prefers welsh women who are already committed" Tosh mumbled and emptied her glass before ordering another one.

"Tosh…" Gwen started. "It was never really like that…"

"No? Sure seemed like it. Or was it just something to pass the time? Make Jack jealous?"

"I'm not sure I'm following" Rose said and looked confused.

"I slept with Owen!" It came out so much louder than Gwen had intended and a few of the bars patrons turned around and sent them curious looks. "Several times" Gwen added in a whisper.

"Oh…" Rose said. There was a few minutes of silence where the bartender served Tosh a new beer and they emptied their first round of shots. "I slept with the Doctor" Rose suddenly blurted out. She immediately clasped both her hands over her mouth.

"I knew it" Gwen said triumphantly and took another shot.

"Don't turn my life into a drinking game" Rose said as Tosh followed Gwen's lead. "This is serious. If my mum ever find out she'll kill me."

"Then tell us, not her" Gwen said.

"It really was an accident…"

"How do you sleep with someone on accident?" Again Gwen's booming voice attracted several curious glances.

"It just sort of happened. We were talking and then we were kissing and then there was no shoes, no shirts, no…"

"I think we get it" Tosh intervened. "But… I though you had an argument, a fight. That's why he left."

"We did. He really wasn't feeling it the morning after" Rose said and took her last shot.

Gwen turned around to the bartender. "We are gonna need a couple more of these!"

"It was pathetic!"

"What? The sex? Maybe he was just shy" Tosh said.

"No not the… sex" Rose almost whispered the word, like Jackie was lurking around somewhere just waiting for Rose to say the magic words so she could step in and lock her up forever. "The morning after. Complete mess!" Rose took another shot and immediately slammed her head on the table. "I feel bad…"

"That's just the vodka talking" Gwen said.

"Did you sleep with Jack as well" Tosh suddenly asked.

An eerie silence fell over the table as Rose closed her eyes and fought the oncoming nausea. Maybe drinking in her state was a bad idea? And Gwen had found a sudden interest in her nails.

"Honestly? Both of you?"

"Actually, I had a boyfriend back then" Rose rambled. "Mickey…. Mickey the Idiot. He was my boyfriend"

"You're not making any sense" Gwen said.

"Well, you're avoiding the question" Rose fired back.

"So are you!"

"I didn't sleep with him. He wasn't interested in me, he wanted the Doctor."

"Really?" Gwen was a bit shocked, but after a second though. "Well, I kinda understand him…"

"What?"

"Yeah, the Doctor, albeit a bit weird, is… He's quite nice. Don't you think, Tosh?"

Tosh looked a little embarrassed. "Yeah he is. Bit pompous maybe, but definitely nice.""Shut up! The guy shags me then dump me because he doesn't like _"what I've become"_ and then he practically flees the Milkyway to get away from me. And you two think he's nice?"

"His nose is big" Tosh blurted out. "Very big!"

"You should've seen it before" Rose said. "This is nothing!"

"Well, his hair is completely ridiculous" Gwen said. "Honestly, what grown up looks like one of the Backstreet Boys?"

"Yeah and pinstripes?" Tosh made a funny sound and Gwen chimed in.

"Thanks" Rose said. "I really thought he loved me. After everything we went through, everything that happened. I spent three years pining away, waiting for him and when I finally returns he just… scolds me like I'm a little schoolgirl. And I'm left there, just standing in the rain wondering why he won't love me, if it's me, if there's something wrong with me since he won't love me! It feels like he just ripped my heart out and stepped on it. Stupid git!"

"Pompous idiot" Gwen agreed.

"But now all I can think about is how I made this huge mistake by forcing him to confront his feelings. He doesn't do domestics, he said so himself. I'm so stupid!"

"Rose, you're not stupid" Tosh said and gently stroked the back of Rose's head.

"I am… I could've just gone with him, waited until he was ready… But I was so stubborn, I pushed him away. And now I don't even have a phone number so I can call him and say I'm sorry."

"Good! 'Cause you shouldn't be" Gwen said in a stern voice. "That pinstriped Backstreet Boy should be apologizing to you!"

"I need to throw up" was Rose's reply.

"Jack's nice" Rose said, her head resting on the toilet seat.

"So it's Jack now" Gwen asked, trying to keep the jealous tone to a minimum, while still holding Rose's hair.

"No not like that… It's just… I can understand why you'd want to be with him. He's nice, really nice."

"And hot" Tosh said. Both Gwen and Rose looked incredulously at her. "What? I'm not blind, Jack's gorgeous! Just because I'm not hanging on his every word (she shoulder-bumped Gwen who almost tipped over in the small booth) doesn't mean I haven't noticed!"

"Toshiko Sato, as I live and breathe! I never thought I'd see the day you actually admitted that you're a woman of lust" Gwen laughed.

"Gwen" Tosh almost whined. "Shut up, I'm not! I'm just…"

"Appreciative" Rose offered from her position on the floor. "I appreciate a lot" she laughed. "We should call Jack!"

"And Owen" Gwen said and fumbled for her phone.

"And Rhys" Tosh asked.

"Nooooooooooo" Gwen yelled with a smile. "I'm dumping that bastard!" They all laughed at that. "But maybe we should get you cleaned up first?"

"No, I wanna call Jack and Owen" Rose almost yelled and grabbed Gwen's phone. "Jack" she yelled into the phone. "I just threw up!"

"Silly bint" Gwen laughed and took her phone back. "Hello sexy" she greeted Jack. "You should come down and have a drink with us, we're at Dirty Dicks" she laughed and promptly hung up before handing the phone to Tosh. "Call Owen!"

"Hello, Owen? It's Tosh…" Rose started to laugh again. "We're just having some drinks at Dirty Dicks, why don't you join us?" Before she could say anymore Gwen had snatched the phone.

"What about Ianto" Tosh asked.

"Ianto hates me. Did you know that" Rose asked.

"Yes" Gwen said. "I'll text him, he hates that."

"Good" Rose said with a smile.


	14. Chapter 14

**Poker face**

Jack had been running through some old papers he still needed to fill out, when his phone rang. "Yes?"

"Jack, I need a favour."

Jack couldn't hide his surprised expression. It wasn't everyday that Torchwood three's sourpuss doctor called him and asked for a favour. "I'm all ears."

Owen sighed on the other end. "I'm at the police station. Could you come down and work your magic for me?"

"Owen did you get arrested again" Jack laughed, remembering when Owen had gotten so completely and utterly drunk he had flashed a woman who just happened to be a police officer.

"No…." Jack noticed how tired Owen sounded, "It's my mother."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, if you could just get down here, that would be great. They won't drop the charges and I…"

"It's fine, Owen, I'll be there soon."

* * *

Owen felt like banging his head against the wall. Repeatedly! He hadn't been in this situation for almost a decade now; picking up his drunk and disorientated mother was something in the past for him, and of course the one night that moron Andy calls him, he's left all his ID's on his desk at the hub. Calling Jack was really his only choice; his mother was too frail so sit through a trial and Jack was the only person he knew who could make the charges disappear.

Owen had broken off contact with her when he was seventeen, deciding that working two jobs to support himself was better than staying with her and her man of the week. Their relationship had always been strained, she had been a drunk for as long as he could remember and the men she brought home was worse than she was. Growing up she had been absent and bordering on mean when she finally was present and Owen had been left on his own.

"So, what's going on?"Owen almost fell of the bench he had been placed on by an officer. He had been so engrossed in his own strain of thought that he hadn't even noticed Jack had sat down next to him.

"Picked her up for shoplifting. She resisted arrest and ended up here, crazy old bat."

"What's she doing in Cardiff?"

"Looking for me, apparently." Owen sighed. "I really don't want to drag you into this, but she is not lucid enough to spend time in jail."

Jack nodded. "I'll talk to them and work my magic. How are you holding up?"

"Bit shocked, I suppose. Can't really figure out how she got my address. Last I heard her sister put her in a home."

"Do you want to talk to her?"

"No, I've called Theresa, her sister, and arranged transport back."

"You sure? It's been a long time, Owen. Maybe it's time to make amends?" Jack, being the all-knowing leader of Torchwood, knew pretty much all there was to know about his employees, including their pasts and family relations.

"Or not. I have nothing to say to her."

"If you insist" Jack said and rose from the bench. Owen watched him talk in a hushed tone with one of the officers and saw him slide an ID across the desk. Whatever it said (Jack had about ten to choose from), it worked and a few minutes later, Tallulah Harper was led into the open waiting room. The officer leading her looked around and in a loud voice yelled: "Dr. Harper, is there a dr. Harper here?"

Owen sighed. He was just supposed to help her get out and arrange for her transport back home, not actually talk to her. He noticed that she looked around with eager eyes, probably not even recognizing her own son. It had been many years, nine years, almost, so he really couldn't blame her for it. He reluctantly rose to his feet. "Yes, fine, I'm here. Do I need to sign something?"

Jack joined him a moment later. "It's all taken care of, you can send her home without worry."

"Thanks Jack" Owen said, feeling uncomfortable under his mother's scrutinizing stare.

"Owen, is that really you?"

"Yes, hello mother" he greeted in a flat tone. "Let's get you home, shall we?"

"Are you a doctor?"

"Yes."

"Oh Owen that's wonderful. So you help people, make them better."

"Something like that" Owen mumbled. "Come along, you're free to go. I've talked to your sister and she is waiting for you."

"But I don't want to go, I want to stay here with my son." She gently touched his cheek, "I've missed you so much. And here you are, a real doctor. Who would've thought?"

"Certainly not me" Owen said and started to walk her outside. He noticed that Jack had brought the jeep.

"Need a lift?"

Owen nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

"Don't mention it. Where to?"

"Train station."

"But I don't want to go. Owen, we need to talk…"

"No, trust me, we really don't" Owen said and buckled her seatbelt in the back of the car.

"Are you still with that lovely girl?"

"No, her brain exploded" Owen said in a rather detached voice.

"Oh… Listen Owen, I know I wasn't the best mum, but I tried my best, I really did. And you were such an independent child…"

"It doesn't matter, not anymore. Theresa will be waiting for you at the station."

"Will you come visit? I'll tell the others about my soon, the doctor. They'll be so jealous. Will you come visit me, at the home?"

Jack looked at Owen. He knew how hard this was and Owen had always been reluctant to talk about feelings or anything personal like that. Jack could remember the young man he had met before Owen joined Torchwood. Despite the unhappy situation with his fiancé, Jack saw a happy and brilliant young man with a thirst for life and love. The loss of Katie had been devastating and Owen had build solid walls around him, pushing people away and not one for long-term anything. Sadly, that which made him less human also made him a perfect candidate for a place on the Torchwood team.

"Yeah, I'll come some day. I'll arrange it with aunt Theresa" Owen said. Jack knew it was a lie, but it seemed to greatly cheer up his mother and he had a feeling she was already so far gone that she wouldn't even remember this in a few days.

They had just dropped off Tallulah when Jack's phone rang and before he could even say something a high-pitched voice greeted him and someone laughed in the background before the phone shuffled and another voice greeted him and told him to meet them at a bar and then the signal was dead.

"Odd" Jack said with a smile. "I think Rose and Gwen just booty-called me."

Before Owen could answer his own phone started to ring and a somewhat nervous voice introduced itself. Again the signal died before an answer. "Lucky you, I only got Tosh" Owen said.

"So, up for a drink?""Yeah I think I need to forget this night."

* * *

"Are you quite done now" Gwen asked.

"Think so" Rose replied but made no attempt to move.

"Cone on you two. A party in the loo is just…. Well, it's a really weird party" Tosh said and yanked Gwen out of the booth. "You two, blondie."

"Yeah yeah I'm coming. I think I'm gonna start my very own lonely hearts club. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"It sounds sad" Gwen said. "Can I join?"

"You're not lonely" Tosh said and almost staggered to the floor as Gwen and Rose tumbled into her. "_I'm_ lonely. I should join!"

"Is at a lonely hearts club if there's more than one" Rose asked as they finally sat down in their booth.

"It's not really a club if it's just you" Gwen explained.

"Yeah, but it's not really lonely if there's more than me" Rose countered.

"I think we need more beer" Tosh said and left the booth to order them another round.

"Hello ladies" Jack said and slid into the booth next to Gwen. "Rose, you look positively glowing…"

"I threw up" Rose said.

"Yes I heard. Where's Tosh?"

"Getting more beer" Gwen said. "I've missed you. Not you though" she said and gave Owen a dirty look as he sat down next to Rose.

"That's nice Gwen" he said. "Where's Rhys?"

"Shut up twat!"

"Children, play nice" Jack intervened.

"Oh hello" Tosh said and sat down next to Owen. "This is nice."

"More like crowded. Grab a chair, will you?" Tosh looked crestfallen but did as he told her. The bartender came down with their beverages and Jack ordered another round for all of them.

"No more vodka" Rose mumbled. "Vodka bad!"

"She's not gonna spew on me, is she" Owen asked.

"No, she chugged it all up earlier" Gwen said.

"Such a charmer, our little Rose" Jack laughed. "I take it this little arrangement had nothing to do with a certain time traveller leaving you behind?"

"He's just a stupid pinstriped Backstreet Boy" Rose said. "And he broke my heart. Is there any more vodka?"

"I think you've had enough vodka for now, Rosie" Jack said.

"Oh lighten up Jack. She's just had her heart broken and trampled on by the love of her life. She's a sad pathetic girl right now, look at her, it's awful…"

"Gwen please stop defending me" Rose said and kicked her under the table.

"Where's Ianto" Tosh asked.

"He didn't want to come. And he found my text highly inappropriate" Gwen said and mimicked Ianto.

"He's been acting really weird lately" Tosh said. "Is something wrong?"

"It's probably just that time of the month" Owen said and received a slap and a kick under the table.

"Do you think he'll ever come back" Rose asked, sounding somewhat pitiful.

"Sure he will. Lot's of trouble in Cardiff to take care of. And that nice Martha Martha Jones left behind her phone number, so we can always call."

"Give me" Rose yelled and lunged forward, as Jack dangled the piece of paper in front of her.

"No way am I letting you call him in this state" Jack said and leaned back in his seat. "It's for emergencies only!"

"This is an emergency" Rose pleated.

"I hardly think you chugging down vodka and then projectile vomiting afterwards is classified as an emergency" Jack said. "We'll talk later." Rose didn't answer.

"We should dance" Gwen said and almost pushed Jack out of the booth. "Come on, Captain Jack Harkness, dance with me!"

"She's gonna regret that in the morning" Rose said and took a picture with her phone. "Come on doctor sourpuss. If I can't have the real deal, I can at least dance with this doctor" Rose said and gave Owen a push to get him to move out of the booth. "You too, Tosh."

They were a weird mass of bodies moving around on the small square on the floor reserved for dancing. Jack and Gwen were moving completely in sync, Rose was swaying slightly to the music, Tosh was awkwardly moving up and down and Owen flat out refused to do any sort of dancing, although he did like to watch Rose.

"That guy over there is watching Rose" Jack whispered in Gwen's ear.

It almost sent chills down her spine, having him so close, but she turned to look anyway. Jack was right, in the darkest corner of a bar, a man was staring intently at Rose, apparently trying to squeeze the life out of his glass of alcohol. "Do you know him?"

"No" Jack answered, again oh so close. It was almost intoxicating.

"Maybe we should ask Rose" she suggested.

"Maybe we should?"

"Or maybe we should just go back to your place?"

Rose liked dancing, even though what Owen did could scarcely be described as such. Not like the Doctor had danced with her, but right now it didn't matter; she let the vodka do the talking (and dancing) tonight and she really just wanted to have fun right now. She knew drinking was a bad idea, but again it didn't matter right now. Just like it didn't matter that her heart truly was broken, perhaps beyond repair. The Doctor might come back, but it wouldn't be for her, it would because there was some sort of end-of-the-world-catastrophe or something like that, not because he missed her and wanted her with him. But she didn't want to be that girl, the girl that waited forever for the love of her life to come back. Not anymore. She could barely believe she was relieving this nightmare again, that the Doctor had abandoned her again (although this time it stung so infinitely more, because he had done it voluntary), and she was left to pick up the scattered pieces of her life yet again.

So instead of wallowing forever on a situation she had no control over, she just let go and moved to the music. She would put on her best poker face and hopefully, come time, it would be enough to convince even herself that everything was fine.

* * *

**A/N: I truly appreciate all feedback (although flames probably will make me cry). So please leave a review and tell me what you think**


	15. Chapter 15

**The enemy**

Jack and Gwen had disappeared so fast from the bar you would think their life depended on it. Owen didn't really care either way. Gwen had been a fun plaything, but nothing more. And it was quite clear he was just a way of distracting herself and making Jack jealous.

Tosh had excused herself after a little while, after having realized that Owen was completely ignoring her and Rose was to far gone to even notice. She had danced with herself for a little while and Owen had managed to trick her into drinking some water before deciding to take her home.

He liked Rose. She was pretty and funny and adventurous, everything he liked in a woman. She was, sadly, also completely hung up on some weird guy who apparently just wanted to be called "the Doctor". He felt unnerved by the sudden present by his mother and his rising feelings for the team's newest addition, but somehow everything Rose did drew him in. her defying Jack and standing up for her family and herself and her choice to stay behind and face the consequences of her actions appealed to him and spoke volumes of her character. And she was hot!

"Come on love, let's get you home" he said and gently closed her jacket around her before leading her outside the pub.

"You're a doctor" she giggled. "A doctor who doesn't dance. I hate those kinds of doctors" she whispered. "You should dance! I want the Doctor to dance with me!"

"Let's get you home first, then we can discus dancing later."

Rose giggled again. "You should smile more."

"I don't wanna get wrinkles" Owen said, leading her down the street. Luckily Rose lived nearby.

"Are you coming up" she asked as they stood outside her apartment complex.

"Do you want me to?"

"You probably shouldn't" she said and suddenly felt very sober.

"Probably not…"

* * *

Tosh was angry. Not only was she the only one actually on time for work that morning, but it was also abundantly clear that Owen did not recognize as a woman to desire. in fact he almost treated her like nothing but a co-worker, which made her want to cry, because she was so much more. She had watched Owen hore around with pretty much everything with a pair of breasts, even going so far as to sleep with both Susie and Gwen, but not her. Never her! They were best friends, he told her stuff he would never tell anyone else, she was always there for him, even when he was with other women, and yet he treated her with disregard. She had gone out of her way to make him see her, really see her, but he never did and now he was obviously trying to start something with Rose and Tosh had had enough.

"Good morning" Ianto greeted her.

"Morning" she mumbled.

"Did you have fun last night?"

"Not really" she said. "I kinda ended up the third wheel, well, the fifth to be precise."

"Oh…"

"Are you and Jack…"

"Yes! I'd prefer not to talk about it."

"Sorry" Tosh said before Ianto vanished out in the front.

The first person to arrive after that and only an hour late was Gwen, who was wearing the same outfit as the night before.

"Rough night" Tosh noted with a raised eyebrow.

"Something like that" she said and sat down at her desk. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Of course not" Tosh sneered in a low tone.

Rose stumbled in half an hour after Gwen, looking just as disshelved as Gwen, although wearing fresh clothes. Before either Tosh or Gwen could open their mouths to greet her, she held up her hand to silence them and sat down at her desk and then promptly spent the next hour scowling furiously at the screen. Apparently Owen and Jack had decided to just not show up today.

"Rose, I need to see you in my office" Jack's voice boomed through the hub. All three woman jumped in their seats, all convinced Jack was not present.

"How the hell does he do that" Gwen whispered to Tosh, while Rose gingerly rose from her seat and walked to Jack's office.

* * *

"Yes?"

"Sit" Jack ordered. Rose obeyed. "So, how are you holding up?"

"Fine."

"No problems with the ribs?"

"Which ribs?"

"Your ribs? That you broke when you were hit by a car…"

"Ooh. No they're fine."

"They seems to have been fine for some time now."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Rose. Let's cut the pretence. Something happened on the Gamestation, to the both of us…" Rose kept staring at the wall behind Jack's head. "Alright, I'll start… You brought me back to life. And I'm guessing, by your shocked appearance, that you had no idea."

"No… I'm sorry, I didn't. The Doctor never told me and so much happened. The time vortex and the regeneration. I'm sorry."

"He didn't tell you because what you did was wrong." A tear slid down her cheek. "He told me what you did. You took the time vortex and you used it to bring me back to life, but you couldn't control and you brought me back for good. That's why the Doctor left me there, he knew and he disapproved."

"But I don't understand. Why didn't he tell me?"

"Because it would hurt you, Rose" Jack said and smiled. "The Doctor loves you so much, it obvious, even though he won't say it. And I'm sorry I'm the one that has to tell you this, because it will hurt you, but you need to know. I can't die, you brought me back permanently and the Doctor left me, because I'm not right."

"Oh god Jack… I'm so sorry."

"It's doesn't matter now, Rose. I spent years looking for the Doctor, hoping he could fix me, only to find out it's you… And I have a feeling I'm not the only one who's changed?"

"I don't know what happened."

"Are you the Bad Wolf?"

"Yes, I think I am. But I don't know what it means."

"I'll look into it." He fiddled with something in his desk drawer. "I just want to try something" he mumbled and hammered a pocket knife through her left hand that was resting on the desk.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Rose screamed.

Jack pried the knife out. "Just as I suspected" he said, indicating her already healing hand. "Your body heals itself. That's why you didn't feel your broken ribs or your concussion. Or this."

"You could have seriously hurt me!"

"I didn't hit anything important" Jack defended himself. "How long have you known?"

Rose sighed and gently massaged her hand. "Couple of months after ending up in the alternative universe. Fell off a cliff headfirst and woke up some time later, no wounds, no nothing… Then some guy shot me in the leg while I was working for Torchwood, the other Torchwood, and it healed almost instantly. I don't know why, if it's because of this Bad Wolf thing or something to do with the TARDIS or the Doctor."

"Well, the Doctor's body is self-healing, you of all people should know that, but I doubt you've been growing an extra heart all this time, so I'm gonna guess it has something to do with the Bad Wolf. Also, you've seemed to have gone permanently blond."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"That you're probably "frozen" in this image of yourself, the way you looked when you absorbed the time vortex and turned into this Bad Wolf, whatever it is."

"Well, that's money saved, I suppose…" Jack laughed. "But I still don't understand _what _it means. Am I immortal then, like you?"

"I don't know. The Doctor had a few theories, but nothing substantial. Like I said, I'll look into it. There are a few other things, though. There are cracks…"

"Cracks?"

"Cracks in time and space, it seems. Ianto has been monitoring it and so far it's only where the rift works the strongest, like here in Cardiff and in Norway. The walls between the universes are cracked, and so is time."

"So stuff is seeping through?"

"Basically yes. We're keeping a close eye on it and

I've talked to your father, who's doing the same. I'll be calling UNIT soon too, they'll want to know about this."

"Is it because I opened the rift?"

"Well, technically that wanker Owen did it, but yes, I think it is. You crossing through probably created a weak point and when your family and friends jumped over as well, the weak point expanded. Opening the rift made the weak points weaker and now they're cracking."

"How many?"

"I don't know, probably still just the two, but more is probably going to appear over time. And there's another thing." Jack riffled through another drawer (Rose immediately removed both hands from his range). "This man has been following you." He presented a somewhat blurry picture of a man in his mid-thirties with dark-blonde hair.

"Oh god. That's Harry Saxon!"

"You know him?"

"Yeah, he was the case I worked just before I came here. He's following me?"

"Yes, he's been seen several times outside your apartment complex and he was at the bar yesterday. Who is he?"

"I… Oh god, I don't even know, really. He was the president in the alternative universe, newly elected and Pete thought he was off, somehow. He had been investigating him for some time, apparently and I went in undercover to figure out what he was."

"He's not human?"

"I don't know. We never found out. He looks pretty human, though." Rose looked at the picture. "What is he doing here?"

"I think I'll have a talk with him."

"Be careful. Alien or not, the guy's a complete nutter."

* * *

Donna had been messing around in the library for something worth reading (in her world, that did not include Shakespeare or metaphysics), when she accidentally stumbled on a small photo album. She gently took it out from its hiding place on the shelf where it had been hiding between "Understanding and Engineering a TARDIS" and "Quantumphysics for Geniuses" .

She opened it and couldn't hold back a smile at the first picture staring back at her. Lovely, beautiful and sweet Rose was posing for the camera with a tall man with big ears, who looked positively scary. She turned the page to find more pictures of Rose and the big eared man laughing, scowling and just generally being themselves. Sometimes Captain Jack Harkness made an appearances; in one picture he was kissing a grinning Rose's cheek, in another he was apparently dancing with the other man.

Another paged turned revealed a picture of Rose and her mother, both laughing and obviously not aware they were being photographed. She looked so happy, Rose, laughing and just having a good time. Another picture was of the Doctor sleeping in the captain's seat at the console. Someone had doodled a silly moustache on him. Donna laughed out loud at this, because it was so unlike the Doctor to actually let his guard down and trust someone enough to fall asleep in their presence.

The next picture warmed Donna's heart. It was Rose and the Doctor playing monopoly, probably at Rose's home in London by the looks of it. Rose was scowling at the game, but the Doctor was gazing intently at Rose and Donna could easily recognize a man in love when she saw one. It was nice to see him doing something so domestic. She doubted he would do that for either her or Martha. It was only Rose.

"Donna" Martha yelled from the hallway. "What are you of to?" Donna hurriedly put the photo album back and turned around to greet Martha. "Donna, are you alright? You're crying."

"What?" She touched her cheek and Martha was right, she was crying. She hadn't even realized, but the picture must have effected her more than she knew. "Sorry, must have gotten something in my eye. You said something about finding that swimming pool, yeah?"

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to all of you lovely readers this story now has over 7000 hits. I hope you will all leave a little review, as I love love love them (and re-read them like a person obsessed) and they do fuel me to work harder. If you have constructive critism feel free to share, I take all reviews to heart.**

**Some people have asked me a couple of things and I'll try to answer them here: I don't know about Tosh and Owen getting together, right now it's not in the cards. I have watched (and re-watched) the fifth season of Doctor Who and while David Tennant will always be _my_ Doctor, I think Matt Smith is doing an incredible job (and he does have some great moves). People have different opinions about the way I use/describe the characters and I do try to write them in character as much as possible. One reviewer commented that the characters were a little hurried and I apologize for that and will try to compensate for it, without completely delaying the storyline.**

**If you do have questions, please write and ask. I'm aware that I haven't answered questions before (sorry about that), but I'll try harder now. Remember, reviews = happy happy writer!**


	16. Chapter 16

Foundations

Gwen was having a crisis. A really really bad crisis. She looked at herself in the mirror and felt like throwing up. It was still early morning, but she felt restless. She checked her phone; five missed calls from Rhys. "Shit" she whispered. "Shit, fuck, bloody hell…" She quietly found her shoes and left the apartment.

She spent the next couple of hours in the car, parked outside her home. The home she shared with Rhys. He was probably still sleeping. She should just go up there, kiss his check and tell him all about how work had been crazy last night and the paperwork just kept coming, pretend like last night didn't happen. But it did, she reminded herself. And she should just be honest with Rhys; tell him about Owen and now Jack, tell him everything. And then perhaps help him pack his stuff and move out? "Shit!"

She was late for work, she knew that. Jack was probably already there, along with the rest of them. Oh god, were they just going to pretend like last night didn't happen? Was he going to kiss her in front of the rest of them? And what about Ianto? She never even bothered to ask.

"Rough night" Tosh greeted her.

"Something like that" Gwen said and sat down at her desk. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Of course not" came Tosh's muffled reply, but Gwen didn't even care. Tosh was obviously upset about something and Gwen had a feeling it had something to do with Owen, which automatically meant she couldn't care less. It was Tosh's own damn fault Owen treated her like crap because she never said anything to him.

Rose almost fell through the front door, looking like hell warmed over and quickly shuffled to her desk. Apparently Gwen wasn't the only one having a bad day. When Jack called Rose to his office, Gwen was forced to slip out to the toilet and throw up. "Well that was dignified" she mumbled and cleaned herself up to best ability given the circumstances.

* * *

"I need to see everybody in the conference room. Tosh, call Owen" Jack commandeered.

"Why can't Rose do it?"

"Because I didn't ask her. Is there a problem?"

"Of course not." Tosh picked up her phone and dialled the number she knew by heart. A muffled voice greeted her. "Jack wants you here, now!" She hung up immediately and joined the others in the conference room.

"We have a problem."

"Just one?" Ianto quipped.

"There are cracks in the walls between the alternative universes and in time. Right now, the first one is our main focus as that is the biggest problem. People are tumbling through and the realities are melting together in very unfortunate ways. But that does not mean that the cracks in time are not a serious problem as well. Five cavemen fell through in Norwich yesterday. They are currently being held in custody by the police."

"How do you handle cavemen" Rose asked.

"Well, we can't really rehabilitate cavemen" Jack said and ran his hand through his hair. "And we can't really send them back either. I think, for now, we'll let them stay where they are. They can't do any harm there."

"What do we do about this" Tosh asked.

"For now it's all about damage control. We need to know exactly how these cracks work, how many there are and how we fix them."

Owen tumbled through the door. "Sorry I'm late" he said and sat down next to Ianto.

"We'll talk afterwards" Jack said. "Tosh and Ianto, I need you to monitor everything you can around the cracks: Temperature, range, rift activity, the works. I want to be fully covered." Tosh and Ianto nodded. "Owen, we have some nice bodies for you to examine, they fell through a couple of hours ago." Owen nodded as well. "And Rose and Gwen, we are going to be doing some field work."

"Maybe this qualifies as an emergency" Rose suddenly asked.

Jack sighed. "It does. I've already called. No answer, so far, but I'll keep trying. I've notified Torchwood one, who we will be working closely with on this one. I've also informed UNIT, who will be monitoring the situation with us. If it escalades we should probably expect a collaboration with them as well. So this means no funny business, we handle this like professionals. That was all."

"Jack, I need the rest of the day off" Gwen said, as the rest of the team filed out of the room.

"Fine" Jack said, not even bothering to turn around. "I expect you here first thing tomorrow."

* * *

Gwen had called Rhys on her way home from work and asked him to meet her there. She was dreading this conversation, but she just couldn't go on like this.

"I've cheated on you" she said, as Rhys sat down on the couch.

"What?"

"With Owen, from work… I had an affair with him. And Jack, I slept with him last night!"

"But…"

"And I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that I've hurt you, that I'm still hurting you, but I just can't go on like this. Every time we fight I know it's not right, every time that you're upset and I just smile, I know I should just forget it, but I can't just throw us away like this!"

"You stupid cow."

"I know. And I'm sorry Rhys, I really am. I wanted this to work, I wanted us to work, I still do.."

"Don't lie to me, Gwen. Because that is horse shit and you know it. Ever since you got that bloody new job, that you still won't tell me about, it's been "work this" and "Jack that". And where am I, huh Gwen? Where the fuck am I in all this? I'm just dumb Rhys, sitting at home waiting for Gwen. But she's never coming home, is she? No, because she's to bloody busy shagging her boss! You stupid stupid cow!"

"Rhys…"

"You broke us, you broke what we had. And I will never forgive you!"

Gwen sat down in the couch, tears spilling, while Rhys left the apartment with a slamming door.

* * *

Donna half hoped to find a post-it stuck to the TARDIS console saying something along the lines "gone to save the world, be back later" when she emerged from her room. The Doctor had been behaving more and more weird these last couple of weeks (at least she thought it had been weeks, she couldn't tell for sure anymore). At first the Doctor had whisked them away for one adventure after another, never stopping. It was quite obvious he was trying to take his mind of Rose. Then there had been the disaster that was Messadine and Jenny. Both Donna and Martha had been completely devastated by the events but the Doctor… He had locked himself away somewhere deep inside the TARDIS (she hoped he was still in the TARDIS somewhere), unwilling to talk to anyone. Martha had tried to find him, but had gotten lost and had been forced to run for her life when she accidentally opened a door that led into something resembling a jungle.

"I feel horrible" Martha said as she and Donna was sitting in the kitchen eating dinner. "I hope he's alright."

"It must be so hard for him. Going through something like that again."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, because he had children, you know…"

"I don't know" Martha said and looked baffled.

Donna caught herself. The Doctor had apparently not told Martha about his life before the Time War. She couldn't blame him, though, talking about it, even now, must be excruciatingly painful. She wondered if he had told Rose. He probably had.

"He has children? But I thought he was the last of his kind?"

"Martha, he is" Donna almost whispered and saw how it dawned on Martha.

"Oh god… And Jenny… That poor man."

* * *

It was night, or at least Martha thought it was night, when she found him sitting in the library. She knew he would often go there if he needed peace (Donna was not exactly a great reader and Martha herself spent most of their free time either sleeping or studying for her exams in her own room). He was sitting in the dark, only a lonely candle lit somewhere and it gave the room an eerie look as well as accentuating his dark mood.

"Doctor" she gently called out, letting him know she was there, but he barely registered her presence. "I was just wondering if maybe… If you wanted to talk? About everything?"

"What's there to say" he asked out in the room. His voice sounded hoarse, like he hadn't used it in a while or he had been crying.

"I don't know, maybe Jenny? Or Rose? It's just, I'm worried about you, it must have been terrible for you…"

"I don't want to talk about it, Martha" he cut her off.

"Thought as much" she said and tried to keep the tone light. "But… I just want you to know that Donna and I, we're here for you, we're your friends and we care about you. So if you need something…"

"Yeah" was his only response and Martha left the library feeling dismissed and unwanted. The Doctor didn't move, he didn't really care that perhaps Martha and Donna was hurt as well, because no one was hurting more than him right now. He had been an enormous idiot, he recognized that. A complete and utter wanker, a twat, a moron, the list went on… He had acted both immature and selfish towards Rose and now he was feeling it. Seeing her again, it had been enough to remove all the pain he had carried around, all the hurt and loss he felt daily and she made it go away just by smiling at him. Even now, recalling her smile and laughter, was enough to make him smile, despite the tears. And he had been so horrible to her, to himself as well. Sleeping with Rose had been a mistake, he knew that even before she shyly removed her shirt, but he just couldn't help himself.

He thought briefly of Jenny, who had been a little part of himself and the thought alone was enough to almost overwhelm him. He had lost her too, been to late to save her and the fact that she had been like him and looked so much like Rose only made it worse. He was truly alone now.

He hated himself for leading Rose on and he hated himself even more for breaking her heart, but he couldn't stay. It was so overwhelming to have her with him again, to have her declare her feelings like that and then expect him to return them in whole (and even though he most certainly did, it was still scary to face that). He had run away like a coward, convinced that a little heartache now was better than a lot of heartache later. But he had been wrong, so incredibly wrong, because nothing could be worse than what he was feeling now.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the great response on the last chapter, felt kinda anxious about it.  
About the updates: I have tried to update frequently and will continue to do so as long as possible. UUnfortunately I have hit somewhat of a wall and am currently suffering from a mild writer's block. Any of you have any advice for something like that, a miracle cure perhaps? Hopefully it'll pass soon and I'll keep updating at least once every week - I have no plans for this summer, as I am student and therefor pretty much dirt poor broke!****  
****About the updates: I try to update once every few days seeing as I have nothing but time this summer. I did recently visit Scotland though, and fell completely in love with the country, the culture, the history and the people. If there's any Scots reading this story: you have a very beautiful country and are extremely nice and hospitable - although me and my friends were actually kicked out of a bar one night. Apparently Danes party harder than Scots.  
As always: reviews = happy writer and hopefully faster updates (although I would never hold my story "hostage" for more reviews)**

**Oh and Kathryn Hart: I think Donna would find the 9th Doctor a little bit scary, but I'll agree with you personaly, I really liked him as well**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thanks to Jiminxx for being the 50th reviewer and using such awesome words about my story - I actually blushed!  
50 reviews were kinda a big deal for me, so thanks for everyone who have reviewed so far and I hope everyone, especially all you great people who have favoured this story, will review. I'm still battling the writer's block, so I apologize in advance if the updates get slower. I know the outline of the story and how it's supposed to end, it's just hard to make it work on paper right now.**

* * *

**Love game**

There was a weird sort of feeling in the air inside the hub. Gwen had stormed out after their meeting and Jack had locked himself in his office (but unable to spend time with his favourite limb as the Doctor had taken repossession of his severed hand). Rose was chatting mindlessly with Owen while Tosh glared daggers at them. Ianto was walking around in the hub, sometimes taking a few steps towards Jack's office before briskly walking the other way.

Gwen almost stormed in a couple of hours after the meeting, furiously wiping her eyes and avoiding eye contact.

"Gwen are you alright" Rose asked as Gwen threw herself into her seat behind her desk and started to hammer away on the keyboard.

"Yes! Fine, everything's fine" she said and wiped another tear away.

"Okay, it's just… You don't look fine."

"Well we can't all be blonde and dandy like you."

"No… No, we can't. But you're crying, so I just figured" Rose said in a somewhat uncertain voice.

"I'm just tired…"

"It's three in the afternoon" Owen supplied, ever so helpful in all matters regarding Gwen.

"Well I was here bloody early" she almost shrieked at him. It was a complete lie, though.

"Do you, um… Do you perhaps want to talk about it?" Rose was standing at arms length, worried Gwen might whack her over the head or something.

"Why would I want to talk about the fact that I'm apparently a lying, cheating whore who was nowhere to stay, because her boyfriend, sorry, _ex-boyfriend_, kicked her out! There's nothing to talk about, I'm fine."

"Oh… Um… Maybe you should take the rest of the day off" Rose suggested.

"And go bloody where?" Gwen yelled and stood up. "Rhys is packing all my things as we're speaking."

"Oh" Rose said, feeling a little embarrased. "You can stay with me, if you'd like?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, sure you can. I don't mind" Rose said and smiled tentatively.

Gwen nodded and started to cry again, as she flung herself at Rose in a tight embrace. Rose wasn't sure what to say or do, so she settled on patting her awkwardly on the back while Tosh and Owen looked at the scene with equally surprised expressions.

* * *

"Thanks" Gwen said as Rose handed her a cup of tea.

"It's fine."

"I'm sorry about earlier."

"It's fine" Rose repeated.

"How are you holding up, with everything?"

"I'm not" Rose replied honestly. "It's more of a numb feeling now, like it's not even happening to me, like it's some horrible dream and any second I'll wake up and the Doctor will be there and everything's fine again. So until I wake up. I'll settle for numb."

"And vodka" Gwen reminded her.

"And vodka" Rose repeated with a laugh.

"Did you and Owen…"

"No. He kissed me, though."

"Did you mind?"

"No it was quite nice, actually. Bit surprising. And wet."

"Wet?"

"I cried."

"Oh…"

"How about you and Jack, did you…" Rose made a gesture with her hands.

"Yes" Gwen sighed.

"Did you mind?"

"No it was quite nice, actually. And wet…"

Rose laughed. "I'm sorry about Rhys."

"Why bother, it's my own fault for sleeping with Owen and Jack. Can't even blame him for tossing me out."

"No, but still... Do you love him? Rhys, I mean."

"I do, I really do. No one ever put up with all my shit like Rhys did. And he was safe, safe to come home to and safe to love."

"Not like Owen or Jack."

"Or the Doctor."

"Yeah definitely him too" Rose said and sipped her tea. She has briefly thought of spiking it with something, but she was still somewhat hungover from their night of drunken debauchery and thought it best not to, given the circumstances.

"Why is it that we are so attracted to these men who are apparently quite incapable of returning or feelings?"

"Because we're sad sad people" Rose answered.

* * *

"Ianto, are you sure you translated this correct" Jack asked and held up a paper.

"Yes, why?"

"The Ambassador wants back his disco stick?"

"That's what he said."

"What the hell is a disco stick?"

"Maybe it's like a rhythm stick, only disco?"

Jack looked at the alien symbols on the page. "Maybe it's like his ruling stick, to rule with?"

"Yes it could be that as well" Ianto said in a rather embarrassed voice.

"Yes, let's go with that, shall we…"

"So you and Gwen?"

"Me and Gwen what" Jack asked, not bothering to look up from the paper.

"Are you….?"

"Are we what, Ianto?" Jack finally looked up. "If you want to know something, just ask. I'm not in the mood for games."

"Well, it's just that Tosh mentioned something… About the two of you leaving together the other night."

"So? You made it pretty clear that we're over. I think the words you used were "this is to much.""

"So you and Gwen are together?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. She's with Rhys and I'm me…"

"Oh. Good" Ianto said and loosened his tie before closing the door to the office.

* * *

Martha Jones was beyond frustrated. She knew that the Doctor was hung up on Rose but this was just unbelievable! She had tried pretty much anything to get the Doctor's attention (including a nightly, very well-scheduled walk to the kitchen in nothing but her underwear), but nothing seemed to work (he hadn't even looked at her breasts).

"I'm sick of this" she exclaimed when she and Donna sat down at the kitchen table. "We haven't been outside the TARDIS in days and all the Doctor do is mope around in the library. He doesn't pay any attention to us!"

"Martha, he mourning!"

"I'm aware and I feel bad for him, I really do, but this has gone one long enough."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Martha, I like you, so I'm just gonna be blunt: he will never ever feel the same for you! He loves Rose, he truly and honestly loves Rose with both his hearts and nothing is going to change that. Certainly not a purple lacy bra!"

"How did you know about that?"

"Please, it was so obvious! And did you never wonder why Jenny looked the way she did?"

"What do you mean? She was an imprint, she just was…"

"Martha, use the illogical part of your brain, just for a second, please! It didn't occur to you that Jenny didn't look like the Doctor at all?"

"She was stick thin" Martha intervened.

"Alright, so they're both a piece of paper in the wind, but she looked like Rose! She was even blond!"

"She wasn't Rose's daughter or anything like that, she was barely the Doctor's daughter."

"She had two hearts!"

"And we both have one heart, it doesn't really make us related, Donna. I'm sorry that Jenny died, I really am, but the Doctor chose to leave Rose behind. That means something."

"It means he's scared! He's scared to love Rose because it will end in tears."

"Why?"

There was obviously many things the Doctor hadn't shared with Martha, Donna was now realizing. "Just give it up. Don't make this some twisted love game between you and Rose."

* * *

"Do you want to go out?"

"No" Rose said in a tone indicating that was pretty obvious. "Do you?"

"No!"

"We'll stay in then?"

"Yeah" Gwen answered. They were lying on Rose's kitchen floor (Rose had tripped over herself, taking Gwen with her in the fall and neither made any attempt to get up).

"Is this weird?"

"Yes."

"Figured… So, you and Jack, huh?"

"Yeah, me and Jack."

"Was it nice, honestly? I mean, it's Jack… You sorta get the idea that…"

"It was nice. Very nice, actually."

"Thought as much. Better than Rhys?"

"Different. How about you?"

"I wouldn't know, haven't slept with either of them" Rose laughed.

"Cow! I meant the Doctor."

"I don't know, it was weird, I suppose…"

"Weird?" Gwen turned her head to look at Rose. "I don't think sex is meant to be weird."

"Well, you slept with Jack, so no judging! I don't know, it wasn't like it was with Mickey or the others…"

"Oh, have there been many?"

"Coming from the office tart I find that very hypocritical."

"Oh ha ha."

"He's telepathtic."

"Who?"

"The Doctor."

"He is?"

Rose suddenly realized Gwen still believed the Doctor was human like them. "I might have forgotten to mention that he's sort of also an alien."

"Seriously?"

"Time Lord."

"Sounds fancy. Good on you, not wasting your time with a Time Peasant. Go right after the top of the food chain."

"His race is called Time Lords. He's the last."

"Did he kill the others?" Gwen laughed at her own joke, or attempt thereof.

"Sort of, yeah." At Gwen's concerned look Rose just mumbled that it was a long story. "It was good, nice, bit weird but nice. Wouldn't mind doing it again." They lay in silence for a while. "I really am sorry about Rhys."

"Yeah well, at least I still have Jack, right?"

"Yeah" Rose just agreed, not feeling as sure as Gwen sounded.

* * *

**Complete filler-chapter, I know. There'll be some actual plot in the next, promise and pinky-swear**


	18. Chapter 18

**Freak like me**

"Hello Rose Tyler." Rose almost screamed at the sight. Harry Saxon was standing right in front of her. "It's _so_ nice to see you again."

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought that oaf Jack Harkness told you? No? I'm stalking you!"

"What do you want?"

"Revenge, obviously. But I'll settle for answers for now. What are you?"

"What the hell are _you_?"

"No, that's not how we play this game" he said and roughly shoved her into the alley. "_I _ask the questions and _you_ answer!"

"You don't scare me. You might have been President in the other world, but here you are nothing!"

"That's not exactly true, though. I'm still a Time Lord which makes me quite dangerous!"

Rose felt like someone had slapped her. "What?"

"Please don't insult me by pretending you don't know what a Time Lord is."

"No, but… They're gone, they're all gone. He said he was the last."

Harry Saxon suddenly griped her shoulders in a vice-like manner. "What are you talking about?"

Rose had always felt uneasy around Harry Saxon in the alternative universe. He was weird and unpredictable, but she had never truly feared him before now. "Let go."

"Little girl, I am going to kill you and do a happy little tap dance on your grave. It's only a matter of time. So be a good little ape and tell me what you know _now _and we can continue this some other time!"

Rose violently kneed him in the groin. "I am _not_ a stupid ape" she yelled as Harry Saxon crumpled infront of her. She kicked him in the stomach for good measure before she turned on her heel and ran for her life.

"Harry Saxon is a Time Lord!"

"Rose, is that you?" Pete was sitting at his desk in the newly renovated Torchwood Tower.

"Listen! He's a Time Lord."

Rose sounded out of breath and she was panting the words. "What are you talking about? Harry Saxon is dead! I shot him, remember."

Rose stopped. Pete was right, he had told them he had shot the President, that was the reason they needed to cross over. How could she be so thick? "But… He looks the same!"

"I'm not sure I understand, Rose."

"He looks the same" she yelled. "Oh god! Dad, he's following me!"

It wasn't often Rose called Pete "dad", it could probably be counted on one hand. Pete had hurt her deeply by refusing her parentage when she and the Doctor ended up in the alternative universe and perhaps she hadn't truly recovered from that, even though their relationship was mostly like that of a father and daughter. "Rose, are you in Cardiff?"

"I was on my way home after work. He was just there!" She was crying now.

"Rose, breath! Go to a friends place, stay there! Call Jack and tell him as soon as you get there. Whatever you do, you do not go out alone, you don't go anywhere alone. Are you close to someone from Torchwood?"

Rose looked around, she had been running aimlessly, her only goal was to put as much distance between herself and Harry. "Yeah, Owen lives around the block."

"Good, go there! Stay on the line until you're safe!"

Rose nodded and started to run again. She reached Owen's apartment moments later and frantically rang on the door.

"Yes" a tired voice said over the intercom.

"Owen, it's Rose, I need to get in, hurry!"

"Alright love, don't get your knickers in a knot" he mumbled and buzzed her in.

Rose practically burst through Owen's front door second later, looking like she had just run a marathon. "I'm here, I'm safe" she panted into the phone.

"Good. You need to call Jack now and inform him, okay? And have Jack call me afterwards, I want a word!"

"What's going on" Owen asked, but Rose ignored him and started to dial. "Jack? Harry Saxon is a Time Lord!"

* * *

An hour after Rose's confrontation with Harry Saxon, the whole team was gathered in Owen's living room.

"How can he be a Time Lord" Jack asked for the fifteenth time.

"Pete says he's sure he shot him and that he died, but obviously they didn't hang around to watch the body, checking for weird alien things" Ianto said. Jack had been so concerned for Rose that Ianto had offered to call Pete instead. "What is regeneration."

"It's um, when a Time Lord is about to die. They sorta just… change" Rose said. "I don't know the technical terms."

"It's a way of cheating death. Their body heals itself but changes all the cells" Jack said. "But you say he still looks the same?"

"Yeah, good old Harry Saxon" Rose said and thanked Tosh for the tea.

"What does he want" Owen asked.

"Revenge. And answers."

"Answers to what" Tosh asked.

"I don't know. But he knew I knew about Time Lords."

"So he knows about the Doctor" Gwen said. "Is that good or bad?"

"No but the thing is, he seemed surprised when I said that the Doctor was the last. I don't think he knew."

"What the bloody hell is a Time Lord" Owen suddenly asked. They all turned to look at him. "Explain, for those of us who aren't important enough to be included!"

"It's a Lord of Time" Jack said.

"Oh, are they really" Owen asked in a sarcastic tone. "I never would have guessed."

"They're aliens, their home planet was called Gallifrey, but it burned and the Time Lords died in a war. All except the Doctor."

"And what, they don't die?"

"They're not immortal, they just have ways of cheating death" Rose said. "But if he doesn't know about the Time War…"

"Then something is really really wrong" Jack said. "Does he have a TARDIS?"

"I don't know, he never mentioned anything like that" Rose said.

"We need to know everything we can about him. Pete is going to send me all the information they gathered and then we're going to have to investigate…" Jack was cut off by Rose's phone.

"Hello?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, miss Tyler" a voice breathed. "Running away from me like that is not going to change anything!"

Rose almost violently threw the phone away. Jack picked it up, guessing who was on he other line. "Harry Saxon?"

"Actually, I've quite outgrown that name. You can call me the Master!"

"I'll pass" Jack said. "How did you get this number?"

"The yellow pages. I presume this is the infamous Jack Harkness?"

"It's captain Jack Harkness, actually."

"Actually, it's not really, is it? I mean, captain Jack Harkness died many many years ago, did he not? You just happened to be there to takeover poor Jack's life."

Jack turned away from the others in the living room. "How do you know this?"

"I have my ways, just ask your lovely blonde friend. Who is the Time Lord you're working with."

"I don't know what you're talking about" Jack lied.

"If there ever was a time not to play dumb, this would be it. Trust me, I know, I am a Lord of Time after all."

"They're gone, all of them. The Time Lords died!"

"You lie!"

"You seemed to be rather well connected. Look up the Time War" Jack said and hung up. He turned to the others. "We have a problem!"

* * *

Tosh and Gwen had both fallen asleep on Owen's couch, while Rose, Jack, Ianto and Owen was sitting in the kitchen, talking in hushed voices.

"How can he know all these things" Jack asked in a frustrated voice.

"I've checked all my sources in the official government. No record of a Harry Saxon" Ianto said and closed the laptop. "Wherever he is getting his information from, it's not an official source."

"We're hardly the only off-the-books-operation out there" Owen said. "He could be working for UNIT or any other institute like that."

"I've checked with UNIT, they were reluctant to give away personnel files, but they assured me there is no one of the name Harry Saxon working with them."

"He probably doesn't use that name anymore" Jack said. "And there must be dozens fitting his description."

"So what, we're back to square one" Rose asked.

"Sorry, Rose. I know this is hard for you. Until we get him, maybe you should move to London? Stay with Mickey?"

"What's the point, he'll follow me anyway. I want to stay here. There's still the cracks, we need to do something about that."

"And we will, but we need to take some precautions now. Obviously he has access to intel on all of us, probably the hub as well, which means he knows where we are and what we do. This will make it easier for him to find you, Rose" Jack said.

"Yeah, but he wants answers, he said so himself. He wont do anything before he gets them" Rose countered.

"I'm not sure we should hang our hopes on a crazy Time Lord" Owen said and for once, both Jack and Ianto agreed.

"Until we either apprehend him or kill him, we need to stay together. No one goes out alone and we work mainly from the hub" Jack said.

"Have you called the Doctor?"

"I think I've left about five hundred messages on Martha's answering machine, but I haven't heard anything. Either she lost it or she is purposely ignoring us."

"So we're on our own for now" Ianto asked.

"I'm afraid so."

* * *

It had been surprisingly easy for the Master to convince Laura Dermott, desk jockey at UNIT's base in London, that he needed help in locating his sister, one Rose Tyler. After she had granted him access to UNIT's classified papers, it had been almost as easy to dispose of her body.

It hadn't told him everything he wanted to know, but he got the larger picture: Rose Tyler was working for Torchwood three, based in Cardiff. Her boss, one captain Jack Harkness (an easy google search had revealed pretty much everything he needed to know that captain Jack Harkness was most certainly _not_ captain Jack Harkness). Medical officer Owen Harper had joined after his fiancé's brain had exploded, Toshiko Sato had been recruited from a UNIT jail cell, coffee boy Ianto Jones had sought Jack out, begging for a job after the fall of Torchwood one and Gwen Cooper, a former Cardiff P.O., had been lured into a job after the demise of a Suzie Costello.

"I see you" the Master said with a smile, as he copied everything UNIT had on Torchwood, to his own computer.

Now came the harder part. The Master knew how humans smelled, how Time Lords smelled, how most of the universe smelled. He had no idea what Rose Tyler and captain Jack Harkness smelled of. There was a certain amount of decay surrounding Harkness, like he was wrong, but Rose Tyler was a mystery. She looked human, but then again, so did he, and he wasn't fooled by her outer appearances. She was something else entirely and he really wanted to know what that was, before he ripped her heart out (if she actually had one).

A small file caught his attention. "The Headhunter" he read aloud and clicked on it. This was just what he needed.

* * *

**A/N: I kicked writers blocks ass! Thanks for the reviews, alerts and faves, they always make me smile and I charish them so much, so keep them coming, pretty please (I think I have developed a dangerous addiction to reviews, but they really do fuel me to write more and hopefully also better). I hope you will let me know if you like the story so far and guesses to where it's going would be kinda awesome and fun. Let me know if you want me to respond to reviews individually, then I'll try to figure that out (I'm sort of technically challenged). **

**Thanks for reading  
xoxo Anne**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I should just be honest with you all right now: I really really love happy endings with tons of fluff and happy people and love and maybe bunnies and puppies, but I'm not sure I can write one. So, you have been warned, no guarenties for a happy ending.  
Thanks for the great response, you all make me super happy, and really, who doesn't like to be super happy?**

**Oh, and I sadly don't own anything affilated with Doctor Who or Torchwood. Just a crazy imagination that can't be tamed (I call it Miley)

* * *

**

**I will be**

"Rose? Are you alright sweetheart?"

Rose inwardly cursed at herself for even answering the phone. And Pete for telling Jackie. "I'm fine, just a bit shocked, is all…"

"I want you to come home and stay until this is over!"

"Mum, you know that's not going to happen. It doesn't even matter, he'll find my anyway. I might as well stay here and do some good."

"Rose, I'm worried about you!"

"I know, mum, but I'll be fine. How are you doing? All settled in?"

"Yeah almost. Found a good school for Tony and your dad's working around the clock. I miss you, though."

"I miss you two. How are the boys?"

"Mickey and Jake are working hard as well. Something about cracks or something."

"What about Duncan and Tim?"

"Who?"

"Mum, come on. Duncan and Time, they crossed over with you?"

"Sweetie I don't know what you're talking about. It was just me, your dad, Tony, Mickey and Jake. No Tim or Duncan."

"Mum I need to go. I'll talk to you later, yeah?" Rose hung up before Jackie could reply. She found Jack in the kitchen. "Do you remember Duncan and Tim? The crossed over with my family."

"Of course I do, Rose. What are you talking about."

"I just got off the phone with my mum and she had no idea who they were."

"I don't mean to be rude, but Jackie is a bit…" Jack gestured with his hands.

"No, she doesn't _know_ who they are, like she'd never heard of them."

"That's weird." Jack found Owen in the living room, watching TV. "Do you remember Duncan and Tim?"

"Who?"

"Duncan Boyles and Tim Schroeder, they crossed over with Rose's family."

"I have no idea what you're on about. It was just Jackie, Pete, Tony, Mickey and Jake. Remember" Owen said in a bored voice. "I helped get them their fake papers."

Rose looked at Jack with big eyes and he motioned her to follow him out into the kitchen. "What's going on" she whispered.

"I don't know. Last time I talked to Pete, he told me they were all working hard at tracking the cracks. Duncan and Tim were surveying the one in Norway…"

"Could they have been like sucked in?"

"It's a possibility, but that's doesn't explain why no one remembers them but us. Obviously we need to be extra careful about the cracks then, not go near them or touch them."

"What about mum and the others? We need to warn them."

"I'll talk to Pete, I promise" Jack said and gently took Rose's hand. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm not" Rose whispered in a hoarse voice, trying to hold back the tears. "It's just too much, all this. I don't know who or what I am anymore, the Doctor has left me and it's my fault that Duncan and Tim are gone."

"Shh Rose, it's not your fault" Jack said and enveloped her in a warm hug. "And we'll figure it all out, I promise."

* * *

"Hello Donna" the Doctor greeted his red headed friend as she entered the kitchen.

"Hello" she said back and sat down. "I was wondering if maybe you would do something for me? Well, it's actually for my granddad…"

"What?"

Donna noted that he had stopped rambling some time ago, only really talking when necessary and it bothered her more than she thought it would. "It's his birthday the fifth. I think that's tomorrow. And I think he would like to see a little bit of the space, yeah? Like the moon or something?"

"And you want me to take him?" The Doctor sipped his tea. He liked Wilf, he really did, but he wasn't looking forward to being anywhere near Rose.

"I know that you don't do domestics" Donna said and made a wild gesture with her hands. "But…"

"Relax Donna" he interrupted her. "Of course we can do it."

"Thank you" she said and grabbed his hand that was resting on the table. "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm always okay" he said and smiled.

* * *

Wilf had been ecstatic at the prospect of seeing the stars. The Doctor had taken them to a far away one, called Nostru, inhabited by tall, ostrich-like people with claws instead of feet. Wilf had been wandering around with an amazed look on his face and Donna had thanked the Doctor a thousand times. The Doctor and Martha had opted to walk a few steps behind them in order to give them a little peace, but close enough so that the Doctor could make sure they didn't land themselves in too much trouble (something Martha found highly ironic given the Doctor's disposition for trouble).

"This is nice" she said in a low tone, as Donna and Wilf looked at trinkets from the market.

"Yes, it's very nice place" the Doctor agreed. "Used to visit a lot when I was younger. Not so much anymore."

"Why not?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know, I just don't… How's your family?"

"They're good" Martha said and played along at the Doctor's sudden change in topic. "Mum's well, mum, and Tish has a new job and new boyfriend, so she's happy. Leo spends all his time partying and dad spends his time with the golddigger. At least that's what they were doing the last time I talked to them."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I lost my phone somewhere in the TARDIS. Stupid really" Martha said. "But it'll turn up somewhere, I'm sure. Until then I'm disconnected. Quite peaceful, actually."

"Yes I can imagine" the Doctor said.

"It was nice of you to do this for Wilf. It can't have been easy to be back on earth."

"It was fine" the Doctor lied. It had actually been a struggle for him not to land in Cardiff and go looking for Rose. And something was off, although he couldn't figure out what, but something in this universe was wrong. He tried to tell himself that it was just the aftershock of Rose and her family coming through, that it would fix itself eventually and Jack was monitoring the situation closely, but he still felt uneasy. He would have to look into that at some point, or at least give Jack a call. If he was quite honest with himself, he would most likely put it off until the very last minute because he wasn't in the mood to deal with Jack.

* * *

Wilf sat down opposite the Doctor in the library, looking around at the surrounding room. "Quite the place you've got here.

"It's my sanctuary. The TARDIS can get a bit crowded sometimes."

"Yes I can imagine" Wilf said with a smile. "And I'm sure Donna won't bother you too much in here."

"She prefers the pool, I think."

"She's changed so much, I can tell. She's better here, with you. She says she wants to stay forever."

The Doctor sighed. They all said that, at some point. Some changed their minds, other were never given the chance, but they all shared the same problem: forever for them were hardly a moment for him. And it hurt more and more. "You apes and your silly conception of time… Forever is a long time. Eventually Donna will break that wow as well."

"Time is on your side when you are young. But as you grow older it turns on you and becomes your enemy and you can't control it. Donna is still young, but trust an old man, some day forever will seem like no time at all."

"I'm older than you."

Wilf looked him over. He looked mid thirties at most. "Get away!"

"I'm 905."

"No? Really?" Wilf gave him another critical look. "Is that why…" Wilf stopped himself. "Donna told me you lost someone you loved. Is it because of the…"

"It's hard to watch someone you love die" the Doctor said. "Rose is human and I'm not!"

Wilf wanted to ask what he was, exactly, but didn't want to be rude either, and he knew Donna had been so worried about the Doctor and his refusal to speak about Rose and his heartbreak. Maybe the Doctor would finally open up a little. "Where is she now, Rose?"

"She's with her family, that's what she chose and rightfully so. I could never give her what she deserved."

"Oh I hardly think that's the case" Wilf said. "Maybe love is worth the heartbreak, in the end? Even though Rose someday, in the future, won't be here anymore, you will still have the memories. And as long as you have those, she will always be there, with you in your heart."

"Hearts" the Doctor corrected Wilf. "I have two hearts…"

"Oh… What are you, exactly? If you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm a Time Lord." The Doctor sighed, glad he momentarily managed to distract Wilf. It felt like opening the wound all over again, just talking about Rose, it was still so raw.

"It seems unfair, you being a Lord of time and Rose having so little of it" Wilf noted.

The Doctor nodded. It did! And it was! It was so unfair that Rose was at the mercy of time, while he, a Time Lord, could do nothing but stand by and watch as time would eventually destroy her.

"Don't you ever get lonely?"

Wilf's question hit hard. Because he was lonely, so so lonely, even with Martha and Donna here. "Yes I do" he said honestly.

"I'm not going to pretend I know a lot about love, but I know there is some truth to that old saying. Sometimes it truly is better to have loved and lost than to never have experienced love at all."

"Rose is safe with her family now, that's all that matters. I can handle being lonely if it means she is safe and being loved."

"Even if it's not you who is loving her?"

"Yes."


	20. Chapter 20

**Thinking of you**

It was thundering outside. Rose looked up at the sky and shuddered. She had never been a fan of thunderstorms and whenever there was one when she was younger, she would go into Jackie's room and cuddle up beside her, feeling safe. She remembered one time, at some planet, whose name she had long forgotten, there had been a thunderstorm worse than she had ever experienced and the Doctor had offered her safe haven inside his coat, letting her cuddle up next to him. She had never felt safer.

"Are you okay?"

Owen's voice broke her out of her walk down memory lane. "Yeah, just not really a big fan of thunderstorms."

"You know, thunder is just…"

Rose held up her hand to stop him. "No scientific explanation, please" she said with a smile.

"Sorry" Owen said and offered her a cup of tea he had been hiding behind his back. "I used to hate thunder when I was younger."

"Me too" Rose said, accepting the tea. "Still do… I don't know why, they just always feel foreboding, like something bad is going to happen. And now with the Master… It's just bad timing, I suppose."

Owen gently placed his arm around her shoulder. "Nothing is going to happen to you. We'll make sure of that."

Rose nodded. "I know. It's just, I have this bad feeling. I can't shake it" she said and unconsciously moved into his embrace.

"It's probably just the thunder. We're all a bit on edge right now and a thunderstorm just adds to the mood."

"You're probably right" Rose said and sipped her tea, while the thunder raged outside the apartment.

* * *

Finding the Headhunter had been easier than expected, but then again, the Master was an evil mastermind. She was working on infiltrating a Torchwood base located in Glasgow and it hadn't taken much convincing on his part to have her join him in his crusade. But then again, he was an evil mastermind!

She had been reluctant at first to share secrets and preferred that he just called her Headhunter, although she had blatantly refused to call him Master, instead opting to just call him Harry or Marsian (which he really didn't appreciate). He had told her his story, how he ended up in an other universe, an alternative one to the one they were currently in, and that he spent his first few years believing he was a normal man, until a rather curious acquaintance of his had opened an old fob watch and it had released his true self. He had told her he fled the Time War to save himself and that he wanted revenge on Rose Tyler. She had told him of her run ins with a Time Lord who called himself the Doctor (at this the Master had violently rolled his eyes, he remembered the Doctor all too well) and how she had been following him through space and time.

The Master had finally asked her about the Time War. What Rose and Harkness had regaled to him greatly worried him, but the Headhunter confirmed his worst fears: Gallifrey had burned in the Time War, along with almost everything else, including the Time Lords. He and the Doctor were the only ones left!

* * *

"Jack, something just landed in Cardiff, something big" Tosh said. She was stationed at Owen's coffee table with three laptops, all monitoring alien activity in the greater area of Wales. It had been six hours, almost, since Rose had met the Master, but Jack didn't feel like leaving the apartment just yet, so they all stayed.

"Not another dragon" Ianto asked from his place on the floor. He had refused to sit on Owen's couch, citing that it was probably full of all sorts of diseases.

"No, it's too complex in form to be another dragon. The readings indicate it's a spaceship of some form."

"Maybe it's the Ambassador coming to claim his disco stick" Jack said in a mocking tone.

"Is it the Doctor" Rose asked.

"No, the computer doesn't recognize it, it's something new" Tosh said. "I'll try to triangulate the signal."

"Great, this is just what we need. Another rogue alien" Owen said. "Is there some sort of galactic gathering we're not aware of?"

"It'll talk a little while to find the location, I don't have the proper equipment here" Tosh said in an apologetic tone.

"It's fine Tosh, just do it as fast as you can" Jack said. "In the mean time we stay here."

"For how long, exactly" Gwen asked. "In the end it won't matter where we are and we'll be better equipped at the hub."

"For now, we stay. There's still a couple of hours until sunrise. Then we'll talk about going to the hub" Jack said in a firm tone. Arguing with Gwen was something he desperately didn't want to do right now.

"I'll make some more tea" Ianto offered and got up from the floor.

"Great, maybe he'll make enough for me to drown myself in" Gwen said and sat down next to Tosh. "How long before we know where the thing landed?"

"An hour, maybe" Tosh said. "It depends on the signal where it landed."

"What are we going to do about the Master" Gwen asked.

"I don't know" Jack answered. "I'm still waiting on the Doctor to call me back."

"And if he never calls back" Owen asked.

"He will" Rose said in a strong tone.

Jack sighed. Owen had a valid point. "Owen's right, Rose. We can't just sit around waiting for the Doctor to call us."

"No? Because it seems like that's exactly what we're doing" Gwen said.

"Gwen shut up" Jack almost yelled. "We go to the hub in the morning. Owen and Tosh, you can check out the crash site. Gwen you're on research. I want to know everything there is to know about this Master and how you kill Time Lords. Just in case" Jack added as Rose frowned.

"So what? If the Doctor doesn't show up to take care of the Master, we shoot him" Rose asked.

"No, your father already tried that, it didn't work. We have to be a little bit more creative, I think" Jack answered. "Rose, I know you don't like this, but he's not going to give up and I don't think we can keep him incarcerated until the end of time."

"No let's do what Torchwood do best: kill an alien" Rose yelled and slammed the door the bathroom.

"Well, what's your idea then? You want to send him to therapy, so he can talk about his homicidal feelings towards you? Try to rehabilitate him" Jack yelled through the door.

"I don't know" Rose screamed. She was so frustrated and being locked up in Owen's apartment only made it worse. She was going crazy while feeling trapped.

"Rose just come out."

"NO!" She could hear Jack sigh on the other side of the door.

"Rosie, I'm sorry, I'm sorry about all of this, but there is nothing I can do. And I can't protect you, I barely know how the Doctor works and this Master is a complete mystery to all of us. And he wants you dead! This is serious…"

"I know it's serious" Rose almost whispered. "I know… Just let me think about all this, okay?"

"Sure" Jack answered. He was frustrated as well, this whole situation was getting out of hand and he didn't know how to contain it. He had often felt misplaced or misguided in his life, but never had he truly felt this scared and helpless. He had no idea what to about those damn cracks or the Master for that matter. And it scared him, because he cared more about Rose being shot by some maniac Time Lord than the universe imploding on them. Jack had cared for many people in his life, he had even loved some, but no one more than he loved Rose and the Doctor. Somehow he would have to figure out what to do about this, because he was very well aware that the Master would not sit idly by, he would hunt Rose down and destroy her, if he got the chance. Jack just had to make sure he never did.

Rose sat on the floor in Owen's bathroom trying not to think on anything. So far she had been stuck thinking about kissing Owen and sleeping with the Doctor. And not necessarily in that order. She wanted to slap herself for being so sad and pathetic; pining away for a man who had fled the planet to get away from her was definitely not good for her. And sort of crushing a little bit on a co-worker was probably not that great either. It wasn't like she was in love or anything. But Owen was kinda nice and good looking, and he was a doctor and oh god did she have a fetish or something? Maybe she should have her head examined? Maybe Owen would do it? Naked?

No bad Rose! Bad bad Rose, she reminded herself. She shouldn't think like that about Owen, especially not while she was still being all sad and pathetic, waiting for the Doctor to come back and claim his undying love for her. Which was stupid, since he probably would rather shack up with Jack than do that, but that didn't mean she couldn't dream about it, did it?

The big problem was that she would probably never move on from the Doctor. He would always have her heart and although she recognized her crush on Owen for what it was, being with him also reminded her of being with the Doctor. They were nothing alike, yet shared some of the same qualities, like a hot temper and an ego the size of France. And if Rose was completely and brutally honest, Owen was second best to the Doctor.

"I need to get my head straight" she whispered and banged it against the wall. "Stupid stupid Rose."


	21. Chapter 21

**You and me**

"Not now, Gwen."

"When, then, Jack?"

"Just… Not now, okay?"

Gwen had blocked his exit from the bathroom and was doing her best at staring him down. "Rhys and I are over."

"Should I congratulate you?"

"Tell me where we stand?"

"We're standing in Owen's bathroom, Gwen."

"This isn't funny, Jack" Gwen whispered in an angry voice. "This is my life! We slept together and Rhys dumped me because of it…"

"So it wasn't because you slept with Owen the first three months of your employment at Torchwood" Jack interrupted.

"So it didn't mean anything?"

"No."

Gwen nodded and moved out of his way.

* * *

"It landed near the Cardiff, probably attracted to the rift activity" Tosh said, as Jack sat down next to her in the couch.

"Good job, Tosh. You, Gwen and Ianto can go check it out now. Keep radio contact and be alert, okay? If you see the Master, run. We don't want any confrontations this early on in the game." The three of them nodded, although Gwen refused to even look at Jack and started to get ready.

"What about us" Owen asked.

"Back to the hub" Jack said and pulled Owen into the kitchen, away from the others. "You used to cage fight a little bit for fun, right?"

"Yeah, like ten years ago. Why?"

"I need you to keep an eye on Rose. I doubt the Master will just sit around drinking tea until we find him. You stay with her at all times and you protect her. Keep your gun on you!"

Owen swallowed. "Rose is not going to like this."

"No, I know that, but I don't really care. I'd rather have a pissed off Rose than a dead Rose. You're responsible for her safety when I'm not around, understood?"

"And when you are around" Owen asked.

"Then you still protect her! The more we are the better. Rose doesn't have any training and she doesn't know how to handle a gun, so she'll be pretty defenceless if anything should happen. Keep that in mind."

"Shouldn't we teach her, then?"

Jack sighed. "Yes, we probably should. I'll talk to her about it, if she'll let me. Otherwise I need you or Gwen to convince her of the necessity in at least caring a gun and knowing a little self-defence."

"Jack, we're leaving" Ianto called and Jack turned his attention to the leaving party.

"Remember what we talked about, stay alert, don't start any confrontations and keep clear of everything resembling a crack" he reminded them before they left.

* * *

Jenny felt dazed as she exited the wrecked ship she had "commandeered" at Habours Palace on Kissener, a pirat-planet. Someone had finally given her a valid tip on where her wayward father might be. She hadn't been spending all her time after her flight from Messadine looking for him, but she wanted to know more about herself, about the history of her people and well, she was lonely. And he was lonely too, he had told her so himself, and maybe if she found him, they could be a little less lonely together.

Her descend into the earths atmosphere had been less than graceful and she had been forced to crawl out from under the cockpit. She looked over the ship; she had "borrowed" it from a Slitheen she had met a few days before. It had been her intention to return it, honestly, but now there was no point to that and she left the wreckage behind.

She had no idea where she was, other than this was apparently earth, inhabited by a race of apes who called themselves humans, and apparently her father's favourite place in the galaxy, after his - their - planet had burned in the Time War. She had learned a little about the Time Lords in her travels. Most thought them extinct, others whispered of a feared medical man who had survived the war and was now causing trouble left and right in the galaxy. That sounded like her father alright.

So here she was, planet earth in something called the 21. century. She looked around. It looked like other planets she had visited but she had a feeling she should put some distance behind her and the wreckage and so she started to walk, letting her intuition guide her.

* * *

"Well, obviously whoever crashed here is also stuck now" Ianto said, as he, Gwen and Tosh looked at the wreckage of the ship that had crashed.

"Any life forms" Gwen asked Tosh.

"No, if anything is in there it's dead" Tosh answered and cautiously neared the wreck. "What should we do about it?"

"Remove it, I suppose" Ianto said. "And find out who or what crashed with it."

Gwen sighed and picked up what had probably once been a door of sorts. "Alright, I'll have a quick look around, yeah? If nothing is in there, we set the thing on fire, and then what?"

"Well, the quickest route towards Cardiff, if you're an alien without transportation, is that way" Ianto said and pointed.

Tosh helped Gwen look around for any life forms. It didn't take them long to conclude there was nothing in there. "Right, back to the jeep and try to catch the aliens" Gwen said, as they made sure the wreckage was almost completely burned out and unrecognizable.

"How do we even recognize it" Ianto asked, as Gwen turned on the jeep. He didn't like their "plan", it was against Jack's orders.

"What?"

"The alien, or whatever crashed. It could be in human form."

"Oh" Tosh said. "I didn't think of that. Maybe I'll be able to pick up some kind of signal."

"This if going to be fun" Gwen mumbled as she turned the jeep onto the small road leading towards Cardiff. "So do we like stop and ask everyone on our way?"

"Yes, I'm sure that would go over well. Excuse me sir, are you by any chance an unreported alien? Or have you seen such an alien nearby?" Ianto said in a mocking tone.

"Well I don't hear you making any suggestions" Gwen snapped.

"That's because I don't have to. We already know that the transport was a ship from a planet called Raxacoricofallapatorius and that it held no living life forms. Jack told us quite specifically not to approach any rogue aliens or go looking for trouble, so in my point of view we're done here" Ianto said in a knowing tone.

"Oh shut up, coffee boy" Gwen responded.

Tosh sat in the backseat and typed away at the computer, trying to see if she could pick up any alien signals, but so far all she got were confusing messages. "Stupid Cardiff, how many alien life forms actually live here?" Ianto was just about to respond, but she held up her hand. "It was a rhetorical question."

"What about her, she looks pretty out of place" Gwen said and pointed at a young woman walking about a quarter of a mile in front of them. She was wearing leather pants and an army green t-shirt.

"Well, she definitely doesn't resemblance any of the farmers who usually use this road" Ianto said. "But Jack said…"

"Oh to hell with what Jack said" Gwen said and speeded up. "Well talk to her, she looks harmless."

"You know, that's what they said about syphilis at first" Tosh said. Both Ianto and Gwen turned to look at her with concerned looks. "I don't know why I said that."

"Does she register on her scans" Ianto asked.

"Uhm, no not really… I don't know what that means, though. She could easily be alien" Tosh said.

"I say we call Jack" Ianto said.

"Why don't you two chickens just stay in the car and then I'll go talk to her" Gwen suggested and exited the car, making sure her gun was out of sight but easily accessible.

* * *

**A/N: Is anyone even reading this anymore? Anyways, please review or something, feedback is always greatly appreciated**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I sadly own nothing affiliated with the Doctor Who and Torchwood franchise. I do however own a pretty awesome computer, and that has proven to be almost as good.****Not myself tonight**

* * *

Jenny had heard the car from almost a mile away. She had great hearing, better than most, probably thanks to her father, and it was coming in hand now. She made sure her old blaster (her favourite she had "procured" from an archaeologist named River on Baghar, a desert planet) was out of sight but in reach and turned when she heard a car door slam.

"Excuse me" a dark haired woman called. "Can I just have a moment of your time?" She held up a badge, but Jenny didn't pay attention to it. She didn't know the different jurisdictional officers of this planet and figured the woman could have waved a badge that claimed her to be a cook and she wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. "What do you need" Jenny called back.

"I was just wondering if perhaps you've heard any weird and loud noises the last hour or so?"

"Why?"

"The RAF is doing some training around here, we're just checking to make sure the inhabitants of this area are not bothered too much."

Jenny had no idea what RAF was, but it was not hard for her to see through the woman's lie. And they came from the direction of her wrecked ship. "It's not" she said and smiled.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Just walking, enjoying the nice weather." Jenny moved her hand a little, ready to whip out her blaster.

"It's about to rain" Gwen said and moved her hand over her gun. She noticed the woman move her hand a little as well and deduced that she was caring some sort of weapon as well.

Gwen pulled out her gun the same second as Jenny pointed the blaster at her. "Who are you?"

"None of your business" Jenny yelled back, both still aiming at each other.

"Put the gun away" a male voice commanded and Jenny shifted her attention to a baby-faced man and another woman, both who were obviously companions of the dark haired woman currently pointing a gun at her.

"You're holding a stick" Jenny said, not moving her blaster.

Gwen turned her focus to Ianto, who has holding a bat and Tosh who was holding her computer. "A bat?"

"I forgot my gun at the hub" Ianto said in an apologetic voice.

"Me too. Sorry" Tosh said.

"You're not from Raxacoricofallapatorius, are you" Gwen asked.

"No! Ew" Jenny said, still not removing her blaster. She assessed the situation, the dark haired woman with the gun looked pretty buff for a woman, but the other two looked like they would go down without a fight. She made a quick decision and kicked the gun out of the woman's hand, hitting her hard in the face before she had a chance to recover from the kick. "Back off" she yelled to them and they all three took a step back. "So you have a…" She searched for the right word. "A vehicle?"

"Yeah" Tosh answered.

"You" she pointed the blaster at Tosh. "Show me!" Jenny wasn't sure she knew how to manoeuvre such a vehicle, but the woman looked like she could easily be "persuaded" to do it for her. The woman started to walk and Jenny followed, picking up Gwen's gun on the way. as they reached the car, Jenny motioned for the woman to get in. "What's the nearest civilisation?"

"Oh, um… Cardiff. It's a city."

"Good, take me there" Jenny said, still pointing her blaster at her.

* * *

"How embarrassing" Ianto said, as he and Gwen started to walk towards Cardiff.

"You said that like three times already" Gwen said.

"This is all your fault, you do know that, right?"

"How the bloody hell is this my fault" Gwen asked in an outraged tone.

"Well for one you are apparently completely unable to follow orders, just like Rose! And second, it was your bloody idea to follow that bloody alien out here in the middle of bloody nowhere! And I'm wearing new shoes!"

"If anyone's to fault it should be Jack! He's the one who ordered me out here because he didn't want to talk."

"What do you have to talk to him about anyway" Ianto spat.

"I left Rhys!"

Ianto snorted. "Don't you think it was the other way around?"

"That's none of your business! And it doesn't even matter now…"

"Right, because you're with Jack" Ianto mocked.

"Are you jealous?"

"Gwen, he's Jack. He is not with you or me, for that matter. He is not with anyone, he's Jack!"

Gwen stopped walking. "What do you mean?"

"When are you going to wake up? He doesn't care for either of us! Do you even have eyes? If he's not too busy daydreaming about that Doctor persona, he spends all his free time with Rose!"

"No he doesn't. He's not interested in Rose like that!"

"It's Jack, he's interested in everything with a zip code" Ianto almost yelled. "You and me are just a way to spend time. Don't fool yourself. I was with him yesterday! It didn't mean anything, just like it didn't mean anything with you."

"You don't know that!"

Ianto almost laughed at her. "Just wait and see. You're no more special than all the others before you. Including me!"

The rest of the trip back to Cardiff was spent in utter silence.

* * *

"One more time. Left hand up, use it to block and hit with your right" Owen instructed.

Rose sighed for perhaps the thousandth time. "I don't understand why I need this."

"Because screaming and running away doesn't scare the big, mean aliens" Owen answered.

"It used to work just fine.""Yeah well it's my experience that running away only means that you get shot in the back rather than in the chest. The outcome is usually the same."

Rose sighed again and put both her hands up. "I feel stupid!"

"I don't care if you feel like Mary Poppins, you just have to be able to defend yourself. And seeing as we pretty much ruled out guns before, this is the only way, unless you intend to sing a song and chase the bad guys away."

"You know, I know someone who did that once."

"And did it work" Owen asked.

"Well, he kinda died…"

"Which brings us back to this. Left hand up, right hand ready to hit" Owen repeated and finally Rose did as he asked.

"How's it going" Jack asked as he walked into the training room.

"Well we have established that Rose should not be allowed anywhere near a gun" Owen said in a tired voice. He really needed some sleep soon.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I couldn't even hit the target" Rose said in an embarrassed voice.

"Oh. Well, how's the self defence going?"

"She could definitely talk her enemy to death. I'm not so sure about the beating, though" Owen replied. "Jack, I really need some sleep now, I'm exhausted: can we continue this some other time?"

"Yeah, sure Owen" Jack said and Owen promptly left the room.

"Any word from Gwen and the others" Rose asked.

"No nothing, which is weird. They should have contacted me by now. Ianto and Tosh both left their guns here, I checked."

"I'm sure they'll call soon" Rose said and sat down. "Self defence is really hard."

Jack smiled. "Yeah, but it's good for you.""Jack Harkness, are you calling me fat?"

"That's _captain_ Jack Harkness, little miss, and no I'm not. You need to learn this Rose, including how to handle a gun. You can't rely on any of us saving you. Or the Doctor, for that matter."

"I don't, it's just…. I really don't like guns Jack. And Mickey tried to teach me a little self defence when I was younger because Jimmy… Well, he thought it would be a good idea, but I was useless at it."

"Give it a little time. We'll all help you out." Rose nodded, then suddenly rose from her position, one hand over her mouth. "Are you alright" Jack called, as she fled into the adjoining toilet. Loud noises of someone retching and then a toilet being flushed, answered him.

* * *

"Owen? Jack? Rose? Anyone" Tosh called out as she entered the hub. "Hello?"

"Would you keep it down" Owen's sour voice greeted her from the old couch.

"Owen, where's Jack?"

"I don't know. Now shut up so I can go back to sleep!"

"Owen, this is serious! I was just kidnapped!"

"What?"

"By some crazy blonde alien! She forced me to drive her to Cardiff, made me stop at a parking lot, torched the jeep and then she disappeared!"

Owen stood up and looked her over. "Are you hurt?" He checked her eyes and touched her forehead, but Tosh batted him away.

"Obviously she didn't infect me with fever or an eye infection, Owen! Where's Jack? I have to tell him and then we have to find Gwen and Ianto."

"No need, we're here" Gwen panted as she collapsed next to the front office door. "Oh my god that was a long walk!"

Ianto dropped down next to her. "I can't feel my legs anymore!"

"Aren't the two of you supposed to be super special agents or something" Owen asked.

"Yeah, who chase aliens, not walk 20 miles in heels" Gwen defended herself. "Now please find Jack so he can scold us and get it over with. I want to lie down!"

"What's going on" Jack asked. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I was kidnapped" Tosh said.

"And we were forced to walk back to the hub" Ianto complained. "My feet are killing me!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "You completely ignored my orders, right?" All three of them nodded. "Tell me what happened."

"The ship is Raxacoricofallapatorian. It's inhabitant looked human, though" Ianto said.

"So you met the alien" Jack asked.

"Yes and I believe the correct term in this case would be that Gwen had her ass handed to her!"

"Ianto, shut up" Gwen said and hit him on the shoulder. "She kicked the gun out of my hand and forced Tosh to take her back to the jeep and drive her to Cardiff."

"And Ianto and Tosh were where when this happened?"

"Oh… Well we…" Tosh suddenly looked very embarrassed. "Well, we both sort of forgot our guns here at the hub, so…"

"You've gotten sloppy and lazy! We all have and this is going to get us killed" Jack yelled. "I can't believe you could be that stupid! Why didn't you call for backup?"

"Yeah or a lift" Owen snorted.

"Well, you see…" Gwen started and looked at Ianto, who just closed his eyes and rested his head on the wall. "We may have also kinda forgotten or cellphones in the jeep. That the alien stole. And torched!"

Jack sighed. "If it wasn't because there's a rouge Time Lord running around in Cardiff and the universe may collapse on us, you would all be fired! So, _so _fired! For now, I'll settle on putting you on desk duty!"

"Doing what" Gwen asked.

"Check the cracks and figure out the Master! That's all you do, understood?"

"What about the alien" Tosh asked.

"I don't care about that alien right now, we have other alien-problems" Jack almost yelled. "Owen, Rose is down in the training room, throwing up. I need you to check her over, make sure she's not coming down with something." Owen nodded and left them. "Gwen, Pete have sent all the information they have about this Master guy, check it out, compare it with our own and make a profile. Tosh, rift activity, cracks and any kind of alien activity!"

"And what about me" Ianto asked.

"Go out and make some coffee, it's going to be a long day!"

* * *

"Are you alright?"

Rose looked up as Owen entered the toilet. "I feel horrible" she whispered, voice raw from throwing up.

Owen touched her forehead. "You're burning up. What happened, you were fine half an hour ago."

"I don't know. I suddenly felt like throwing up and now I'm here. I feel really weird."

"Yeah, let's get you to the lab and check you out. Can you walk?"

"I don't think my legs are cooperation right now. Sorry."

Owen helped her out of the booth and then picked her up, walking them to the lab.

"Your heart is racing" Owen said. "Have you been feeling ill these last couple of days?"

"I've thrown up a couple of times, but that's all. Can I lie down?"

Owen nodded and found a syringe. "I'll just take a blood sample."

"I really hate needles" Rose moaned and turned her head away.

"It'll only hurt a second" he promised. "Have you told Jack you've been throwing up?"

"No, it's not exactly a great topic for conversation. I probably just have the flu or something like that."

"Okay…. Have you been sexual active in the last month?"

"Is that really relevant" Rose asked. She had a feeling Owen's blood sample would be dry, seeing as all the blood in her body had just rushed to her face.

"You could have a sexually transmitted disease or be pregnant."

"Oh… Well… I don't feel pregnant" Rose muttered.

"You're probably not" Owen said. "But it distracted you long enough to not feel the needle."

"Oh right. Thanks."

"Want me to help up to main level?"

"No, I think I'll just lie here a little, in case I feel like violently throwing up again" Rose said and closed her eyes.

* * *

"Is Rose alright" Gwen asked, as Owen sat down at his desk.

"Probably got the flu or something, won't know until the tests are done" Owen answered and closed his eyes. "I am _so _tired."

"At least you didn't just walk a marathon" Gwen said.

"You do know you can't walk a marathon, right? It's implied that you run."

"Shut up Owen."

"Is Rose alright?"

Owen turned to look at Tosh with a tired face. "She's probably just under the weather."

"Maybe she has syphilis, your favourite vd" Tosh suggested mockingly.

"Ha ha, very funny. How's the crack coming along?"

"Bad. And Jack's really upset" Gwen answered. "We really suck at this, don't we?"

"Well, forgetting your gun at work and getting kidnapped by a blonde alien doesn't exactly scream professionalism" Owen concluded. "Maybe we just got used to dealing with Weevils?"

"I miss those" Gwen said. "How is Janet?"

"She's lovely, doing quite well" Owen said. "Any sign of the Master?"

"I don't know his signature, so it's hard to figure out his tracks. He could be sitting outside and we wouldn't know" Tosh said.

"That's very comforting, thank you, Tosh."

"The stuff Pete sent wasn't very informing either. Just info on Harry Saxon's human life, nothing that really helps. We already knew he was a smart and complete psycho" Gwen said. "I have no idea what kind of answers he expect Rose to give him."

"Maybe why she targeted him" Tosh suggested.

"But that doesn't make any sense, he's an alien and she worked for Torchwood, that explains it. Why would he need answers to that, it's obvious" Gwen said.

All three of them sighed, as Rose reached main level and joined them.

"How are you feeling" Gwen and Tosh asked at the same time.

"Bad, like something is crawling around inside me" Rose answered and dropped down at her desk.

"That sounds serious" Tosh said, subconsciously taking a step back.

"Yeah like I said, I'm running some tests. I just wanted to get in an hour of sleep while they're processing" Owen said in a defensive tone.

"It's fine, I'll be fine. I just feel weird, is all" Rose said and rested her head on the desk. It felt like someone was screaming inside her head and her skin was burning. The cool surface of the desk provided a quick relief, but Rose knew it was a temporary fix, she would soon need a lot more than that to keep herself together.

* * *

**A/N: So, what's wrong with Rose? Pregnancy, nasty case of the clap, bird flu? Any guesses?  
Thanks for the great response to last chapter, I was getting a little worried I was boring the hell out of all of you and no one was reading. One reviewer mentioned that the small subplots were taking over the story and I tend to agree so I'll try to balance out the story more from now on. Constructive critism is always appreciated, so thanks for that.  
On a completely different note: Summer's almost over (hope you all had a blast - I was stuck at home, spending all my money on getting my car fixed) and it's my hope to be over and done with this story before I start back in school. So keep the great response comming (I'm such an addict) and I'll do my very best to keep the chapters coming. I figure there's about four or five left.  
xoxo Anne**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: A reader mentioned in a review that I completely ripped of a line from the Kate Nash song Foundations and the person couldn't have been more right. I have shamelessly "borrowed" bits and pieces of the song that inspired me in each chapter (check the chapter-titles). So if you are extremely bored, see if you can spot them (some of them are really obvious). This would probably also be a good time to state that I don't own any of the songs either - 'cause I don't, unfortunately.  
****Thanks for the great response, it was super duper awesome and it always brightens my day. You guys (girls?) are amazing and I can't express how much it means to me.**

* * *

**It's the end of the world as we know it**There's another crack, this one in Austria" Tosh said.

Gwen sighed from her position on the couch. Rose was fast asleep, her head resting on Gwen's lap. "Well, I'm making zero progress here. And Rose is still burning up. Is Owen done with the tests or what?"

Tosh shrugged. "He vanished a little while ago. I'm getting such a headache!"

"More coffee" Ianto offered. He was resting at Rose's desk, trying to spot something on a map.

"I'll explode in one giant coffee-brown mess if I have anymore" Gwen said. "I think maybe we should call up this Master guy and ask him what he wants."

"I take it you have him on speed dial" Ianto asked.

"He called Jack.""He called Rose, and he probably lost that phone immediately after, knowing we would try to track him through it." Ianto eyed his cup warily. "God I can't drink anymore either. I feel like my insides are turning into pure caffeine."

Tosh yawned. "I'm really tired. Do you think Jack would mind…"

"Yes" Gwen and Ianto replied in unison.

"Why does Rose get to sleep" Tosh asked and rubbed her eyes.

"Because for all we know she's dying of some horrible and gross disease" Ianto said, resting his head on Rose's desk. He had never felt this tired before, ever!

"Ianto, ew! She's lying in my lap" Gwen said.

"Which means whatever she's got, you probably caught it… You could die together."

"It'd be very romantic" Tosh mumbled.

"I really hate this place sometimes" Gwen said.

* * *

The Doctor had been mulling over his conversation with Wilf for some time now. And he had come to quite the surprising conclusion: he was wrong! He was so completely and utterly wrong. Which was a new for him, but he embraced it (reluctantly).

"So this Snaf…"

"Snarf" the Doctor corrected Donna. She just rolled her eyes at him and continued. He wasn't even paying that much attention, he just hated when she got the names wrong; mostly because it could cost Donna her head one day, if she got it wrong in front of the alien in question. Snarfs really were quite unpleasant.

"Doctor, are you even listening" Donna screeched and pulled him from his own thoughts.

"Yes, of course I am. Very interesting, these Snafs…""Snarfs" Martha said, trying to hide her smile.

"Yes, those too.""Well it sounds like you have quite the adventures" Wilf said with a big smile. "Can't tell you how much it means to an old man to have seen it with his own eyes. But I think it's about time I got back…""Gramps, you don't have to leave" Donna said.

Wilf smiled. "No I better get back before your mother sets the house on fire or something."

Martha smiled and hugged Wilf. She really liked him and it had been fun having him around. It was just an added bonus that the Doctor seemed to brighten up too. "It's been really fun."

"It sure has" Wilf said. "Can't wait for next year, or Christmas!"

The Doctor smiled. "It was an honour, Wilf."

"Same here. And maybe you will rethink your decision? It's not too late, you know?"

"I know. Now, let's get you back home safely."

"Ha, easier said than done" Donna said and grabbed hold of the TARDIS, as it lurched violently.

* * *

"Jack, there's been a sighting" Gwen yelled from her desk.

Jack almost charged through his office door. "Where?"

"Not far from here" Gwen answered. "Are we going?"

Jack looked indecisive for a moment. "Yes! Gear up."

"Rose, you stay behind" Jack said, as Rose waddled to her desk to get her jacket.

"No way!"

"Rose I'm sorry, but there's something wrong with you…"

"There is nothing _wrong_ with me" Rose said in a defensive tone. "I want to come, it's my life!"

Jack looked at Owen, who shrugged. "Tests came back inconclusive. I don't know what's wrong."

"Rose, maybe you should just stay here" Gwen started.

"I can't believe this! I want to go, I _need_ to go! And we're wasting time standing around here arguing. I'm coming and that's it!"

"You stay back, understood? I don't want any accidents" Jack said in a stern voice and Rose nodded.

The new jeep was uncomfortable and smelled weird and Rose felt awkward almost sitting on Gwen's lap, as Ianto was squeezed in between her and Owen, who was loudly complaining about their seating-arrangement. Tosh was sitting in the front passenger seat with her computer, trying to get a lock down on the Master's whereabouts. "Turn here" she yelled, and Jack took a sharp right turn, making all the heads in the back collide with each other.

"I say, after all this is over, we find that blonde alien thing and force her to buy us another jeep" Owen said, as he bumped into Ianto again. "Do you mind?"

Ianto gave him a dark look and tried to move closer to Rose, who felt weird sitting this close to Gwen. It was like getting to second base, without anyone really wanting to.

Another wild turn. "I'm killing that Master, I swear to god! And then I'm going into hibernation" Owen said, as Ianto was thrown into him. "Get off!"

"You know, this isn't exactly a picnic for me either. You smell awful!"

"And you smell of peaches and sunshine, is that it, Ianto?"

"Owen, Ianto, shut up" Jack yelled and hammered down on the brakes. "We're here!"

* * *

* * *

"So, what now" Donna asked. They had just dropped of Wilf, who had hugged them all three times before exiting the TARDIS.

Martha shrugged. "Another crazy adventure?"

"Actually…" Donna and Martha turned to look at the Doctor, who was leaning against the console. "I have something I need to fix."

"You're always fixing it, just give it rest. It's always gonna say that whooshing sound" Donna said.

The Doctor smiled a little. "I like that sound. And it wasn't that…"

"Oh" Martha said, as it dawned on her. She felt both happy and sad at the same time.

"What?" Donna looked around wildly. "What am I missing?"

"We're going to Cardiff" the Doctor said.

"Why?" Donna still looked completely confused.

"Donna…" Martha made a gesture with her hands.

"I made a mistake" the Doctor finally said. "I need to make it right between Rose and me." An almost goofy smile lit up his face.

* * *

It had been easy, almost too easy, Jack thought. They were all standing on some abandoned construction site, the Master in front of them. Jack had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, it just didn't feel right that it had been that easy to chase him down.

"What a lovely little gang" the Master said with a smile. "Like a little Scooby gang. You even have the van!"

"What is it you want" Jack asked.

"Oh, such a loaded question. What do I want? Well, let's see, shall we? I want a house on the beach, a white picket fence, world peace… But what I want most of all is revenge. Isn't that right, Rose Tyler?"

Rose nervously took a step back. She had been hiding behind Owen and Ianto, doing her best not to be noticed by the Master. She felt weird, this whole situation was giving her the creeps and she was starting to regret the fact that she had insisted on coming. "I don't know what it is you want from me" Rose said, trying to sound brave. She had a flashback to when she had faced the Sycorax, and just like then, she had a feeling that her "borrowed" words wouldn't impress the Master either.

"I want to know what you are. Him" the Master suddenly pointed at Jack with a gun, "I already know about. Isn't that right, Mr. Time Agent? You, on the other hand, smell differently. And I want to know why, before I kill you!"

Gwen, Ianto, Owen and Tosh all looked at Rose and Jack, their eyes displaying both uncertainty and confusion. Jack held up his hands. "Why don't you put the gun away?"

"Why don't you just shut up" the Master replied. "Where's the Doctor, by the way?"

"Don't know what you're talking about" Jack said.

"Please don't act stupid, it bothers me" the Master said. "I would really appreciate it if you would help me get in touch with the Doctor. We have some unfinished business."

"And if we don't" Gwen asked.

"Then I'll send him my own message! I'll start by shooting you." He pointed the gun at Jack again.

"You're not gonna shoot me" Jack said.

"You're right I'm not. It would be a waste of bullets, as you would just get right up again, you one-hearted immortal freakshow. Shooting her" he moved the gun so it pointed at Rose, "sends a much better message to your beloved Doctor, don't you think" he asked with a smile and pulled the trigger.

* * *

Donna and Martha had been laughing for almost half an hour, as the Doctor swore and kicked the console. "Of all the times to have motorstop" Donna said with a huge grin.

"It's not a motorstop" the Doctor said. "Old piece of junk!" He gave the console another kick, as the TARDIS made a loud screeching sound.

Donna almost collapsed from laughter, as her phone started to ring. "Martha, get that will you" she said, too intrigued by the Doctor's battle with the console.

"Hello? It's Martha… Oh, hi Jack, how are you?" Martha turned to the Doctor, who clearly gestured he did not want to talk to Jack, causing Donna another fit of laughter as the TARDIS shocked him.

Martha's demeanour suddenly changed and she held the phone out to the Doctor. "It's Jack. He says it's important. It's about Rose."


	24. Chapter 24

**What can I say?**

Silence. It was the first thing Donna noted, as she took a tentative step out of the TARDIS. Jack was sitting by himself at a desk, hands moving and covered in something that looked like old blood. Donna cringed. Gwen, who was crying silently, was sitting on the floor with Owen, who had an arm around her. He looked pale and tired. Tosh and Ianto was sitting on the dingy couch, both with red eyes. None had gotten up to "greet" them.

Martha was out next, not exactly sure what to expect. The Doctor hadn't said anything, just hung up the phone and started to pull levers on the TARDIS, landing them inside the hub. Obviously she knew it was bad, something had happened to Rose, but…. Looking around Martha felt sick. She tried catching Jack's eyes, but he was staring intently at his hands that were, to Martha's horror, covered in blood.

Jack abruptly stood up, as the Doctor exited the TARDIS. For a moment they just sort of stared at each other and the tension in the hub was palpable. No one said anything, it was like no one wanted to break the heavy silence resting in the hub.

Finally Owen stood up, looking awkward. "She's… She's downstairs, if you want to see her?"

The Doctor swallowed and nodded, following Owen.

Gwen got up to follow them and Martha gently touched her arm. "Gwen, what happened?"

"I…" Fresh tears came to her eyes. "It was so awful. I don't even really know."

Ianto made his way over to them. "Come on Gwen" he said in a low tone and gently nudged her forward. "We should go too…"

Martha looked at Donna, who was staring at Jack's hands. "Jack, are you….?"

Jack turned to look at Martha with almost dead eyes. "He just… Shot her! He killed her and I couldn't do anything." He looked back at his hands.

"Jack" Martha said in a tone one would use when dealing with scared children. "Is that… Rose's?" She gestured his hands.

"There were so much blood, but we couldn't do anything. Owen tried everything, but…"

"Oh god" Donna said, as the situation dawned on her. "Oh no…"

Martha felt her heart break for the Doctor. It was just too cruel. "And she's downstairs?"

Tosh finally rose from the couch. "I'll take you" she said, walking past Jack without a glance. She knew it was unfair, but if he hadn't been so lenient with Rose, if he hadn't just bent to her every whim, she would still be here. She would be safe! And somehow Tosh couldn't find it in herself not to blame Jack just a little bit.

* * *

It was overwhelming for him to even take a step inside the room. It was cold and sterile, clinical; all the things Rose was not. It felt wrong that she would be here, she shouldn't be in a place like this.

"I um… Cleaned off the blood and…" Owen started, but the Doctor didn't pay him any attention. In front of him, on a cold metal slab was Rose, covered by a white sheet. She looked peaceful, like she was just resting or something like that. If he tried hard enough, maybe he could convince himself of that?

"What about Jackie? Does she know?"

Owen nodded. "Jack called her, after he talked to you… They should be here soon."

The Doctor nodded. He didn't know what to say, what to do… He didn't have any words, it didn't feel real, any of it. And really, what purpose would words have now? What purpose would _he _have, now that Rose wasn't here anymore. There were no words, no actions, no tears. Nothing! He felt empty, he _was_ empty.

"What happened?" Owen and Gwen turned at Donna's quivering tone. "What did this?"

"It was a Time Lord" Gwen started.

"Impossible!"

Gwen looked at the Doctor, who hadn't even turned around. "He said his name was the Master, he knew Rose from the alternative universe…"

"They died, they all died" the Doctor argued. "Whoever he was, he lied!"

"He wasn't lying" Jack interrupted.

The Doctor turned. "And how do you know that? Because he told you? You don't know anything about Time Lords!"

"He knew about you too… He knew about all of us, about me…" Jack sighed, ignoring the Doctor's mocking tone. "He was stalking Rose, he crossed over when we opened the rift. He said he wanted answers…"

"To what?"

"I don't know."

"What happened?"

"We got a trace on him and followed it. He ranted on about answers and you and Rose, he wanted us to deliver a message to you."

The Doctor turned around to look at Rose again. He wasn't sure if he should touch her. She used to have such warm hands and whenever he said something silly blood would rush to her cheeks. If he touched her now, her hands would be cold and he wasn't sure if he would like to think of her like that, to have that be his last contact with her, when she was cold and not Rose. "What message?"

"You're looking at it" Jack said.

"I thought you said he wanted answers?"

Donna could tell the Doctor was getting aggravated and she didn't think a fight between him and Jack would do anything to help this unhappy situation. "Is Rose's mum on the way?"

"She should be here any minute" Owen repeated.

"Why don't I just go look for her" Donna volunteered herself. She felt sick just being in the room and she knew the Doctor well enough to know that he wouldn't accept her comfort, at least not yet.

"I'll come with you" Martha said. She felt weird too. Donna and herself didn't really know Rose, except from the Doctor's recollections. And although it was heartbreaking, they both felt misplaced and like intruders in this so private and unbearable time. They left the Doctor and the Torchwood team to grieve.

* * *

"This is horrible" Martha said, as she and Donna stood outside the hub, waiting for Jackie.

"It's not fair. He was going to go back, to make things right and now this…"

"I know." Martha gently shifted around on her feet. "Do you feel weird? I mean, we didn't know her, not really."

"Yeah…" Donna just muttered. "You think Jackie will be here soon?"

Martha shrugged. "I hope so."

"It's just... So cruel!" A tear made its way down Donna's cheek. "He's already lost so much..."

Martha nodded. "First Jenny and now Rose. There's no one left now... He's truly alone."

"He has us" Donna argued, wiping away the tear.

Martha sighed. "It's not the same, though, is it. Not really. We can't fill the void."

They stood in silence a few moments, neither knowing what to say. It was a hopeless situation; unless Rose suddenly decided to wake up from the dead, hard times where ahead for them all.

* * *

"I'm sorry." It came out as I whisper, but the Doctor heard it.

"I know."

Gwen, Owen, Tosh and Ianto had left the sterile room, giving the two men who were closest to Rose some privacy.

"I tried to protect her."

"I know."

Jack sighed. "Please just say something, other than that."

"There are no words" the Doctor said in a small voice. He was still debating whether touching Rose would grant him a small comfort or make his pain worse. He shook his head: it couldn't possibly be worse than this, and he gently touched her left hand. It felt the same as it used to, cold, but still like Rose.

"I'm so sorry" Jack said again, his voice hitching. He had lost a lot in his life, but somehow this felt so much more unbearable. He could have stopped it, he _should_ have stopped it. He was Rose's friend, her boss, her…. What they had was special and he had lost it now.

"What's the point" the Doctor asked. He didn't even look at Jack, he was so engrossed in Rose's hand. He used to hold that hand, a lot. It had brought him comfort and joy, made him feel more human.

An inhuman cry brought both men out of the reverie. They turned and saw Jackie, dressed in black from head to toe, clutching a visibly shaken Pete. Her eyes were puffy and red and tears streaked both her cheeks. They both took a step back and let Jackie and Pete have a moment with Rose.

After a few moments Jackie turned to look at them. "What happened?" It came out more like a snarl than an actual question.

"She was shot" Jack said.

"I can bloody well see that" Jackie yelled at him. She then turned on the Doctor. "And where were you, eh? Where the hell where you when my daughter was dying?"

"Jackie" the Doctor started.

"No! Don't you dare "Jackie" me! My daughter is dead! Do you understand that? She's dead!" Jackie gave the Doctor a hard push. "You were supposed to protect her, to keep her safe!" Another push.

"Jackie, please" Pete intervened, but didn't move to stop her. The rest of the team and Martha and Donna had turned up at the noise as well, but they too just stood there. No one had the heart to stop Jackie in her grief.

"She's dead!" She hit him hard on the shoulder. "You promised me to look after her, you promised…" Jackie started to sob again and gave the Doctor another halfhearted hit.

The Doctor gently took both her arms, forcing her to look at him. "I know Jackie. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Jackie buried her head against his chest, crying uncontrollably and the Doctor put his arms around her, letting her cry and grieve. "I'm so sorry" he whispered again.

* * *

**

* * *

**

A/N: Okay, so this was a hard hard chapter to write. The words just wouldn't come out right and I'm still not satisfied by the chapter, but I couldn't just sit and stare at a blank screen anymore. I apologize for the wait and hope everyone is not too upset. Some of you complained about the cliffhanger and sorry, but that's just how it worked best for me.

**Huge thanks to all the reviewers, especially Little Miss Fahrenheit, who totally made me blush (and no worries, exams demands our time, I really know the feeling. Hope you did great), and Miss Snazzy, who reviewed all the chapters (that was pretty awesome to wake up to).**

**I think there's going to be longer between the updates and I'm truly sorry about that, but I have to start focusing on school again and stuff like that, and I'm struggling with the ending to this story (I think that evil writer's block is coming back for another round). Consider yourselves warned, although I'll do my very best to update regularly.**

**Also, I'm kinda fiddling around with a sequel of sorts, to this story… Not really sure if it'll evolve to anything, maybe no one's interested, but I think I'll try to write down an outline of the story and see if I can make it work.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Somewhere over the rainbow**"So, do you know this Master guy?"

* * *

"Yes… We go back."

"He's not like an evil twin or something" Jack asked.

"Is your head filled with dirt? Of course he's not" the Doctor responded. "What a stupid thing to ask."

"Just had to be sure. What's the plan now?"

"I find him."

"And?"

"Not so sure about the next part."

"You're gonna kill him?"

"I don't know" the Doctor said. "Rationally, I know it won't bring Rose back, or ease the pain, but…"

"Revenge is an easier emotion to deal with than sorrow" Jack said. "I get it."

"Jackie asked me to…" The Doctor sighed. All the conflicting emotions were starting to wear him down. And Jackie had asked him to find whoever did this and get revenge, she had asked him she earnestly that he couldn't refuse her. Maybe because he really wanted revenge too.

"She wants justice" Jack said. "It's only natural. Can't really say I don't want that either. Rose meant the world to me."

The Doctor didn't respond and the two men just sat there in silence for a while.

* * *

"Jackie's finally asleep" Owen said as he almost collapsed at his desk. "Lord that woman can hold her meds. Used the same tranquilizers we use on Weevils.""Is that healthy" Ianto asked.

"It made her calm down" Owen said with a shrug. "Pete's phoning Mickey and Jake right now, they are in Norway."

"Where's Gwen" Tosh asked.

"Throwing up, again! She really needs to cut down on her drinking" Owen said. "She's what, twenty eight going on sixty?"

"We all deal with this differently" Tosh said.

"What about Donna and Martha?"

"Outside" Tosh said. "They must feel so weird, they barely knew Rose."

"So what now" Ianto asked and sat down at Gwen's desk. "Is it just back to business?"

"Well, call me crazy, Ianto, but I think we're going to take some time to deal with this" Owen said.

"Please, let's just not fight right now" Tosh intervened. "That's not what Rose would have wanted."

"I think Rose would have wanted not be dead! To not be locked in the Torchwood dearly dead employees' storage room" Owen yelled and stood up. "I hardly think she would care about Ianto's idiocy."

Tosh and Ianto looked surprised and a little shocked, as Owen left the room. "What just happened?"

Ianto stared at the door Owen had just slammed shut. "I think he's dealing…"

* * *

"I was coming back…"

Jack turned to look at the Doctor. They were sitting outside, on the harbour and the Doctor had been staring at the same spot somewhere on the horizon for almost an hour and his admission surprised Jack. "What do you mean?"

"It's just, ironic, almost… I was coming back and then… this. Story of my life, I suppose."

"Doctor, it wasn't your fault" The Doctor just shrugged. "Look, what Jackie said…"

"It's not about that. But she's right, I promised I would look after Rose, make sure she was safe…"

"Rose was an adult, she made her own choices. Trust me, she didn't want a babysitter."

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Donna. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, I'm fine…"

"Liar" she said with a small smile, gently touching his arm.

Gwen sat down next to Jack. "Owen is throwing things around in the lab."

"He's a bit on edge" Jack said. "We all are. You okay?"

"No" Gwen said honestly. She was afraid whatever decease Rose had had, she had passed it on to Gwen.

"You should let Owen give you a check up" Martha said.

"I'd rather have my tonsils removed with teaspoons" was Gwen's reply.

"Oh… I can do it, if you want? Not the tonsils, the check up."

"Really? That would be great" Gwen said. "But, maybe later, yeah? When Owen's done redecorating:"

Martha smiled. "It's fine."

"Where's Jackie" the Doctor asked.

"Owen gave her something to calm her down. She's sleeping now, I think. Pete's arranging for Mickey and Jake to come home" Gwen said.

Donna leaned her head on the Doctor's shoulder. "I hate this. It's not fair" she whispered.

"I know" he responded.

The little group was joined by Tosh and Ianto not too long after. "Owen's tearing the lab apart" Tosh said as she sat down next to Gwen.

"Let him" Jack said.

"Beautiful sunset" Ianto commented.

"You should eat something" Donna said.

"I'm not hungry" the Doctor said.

"I could eat" Gwen suddenly said.

"Yeah me too" Ianto agreed. None of them had eaten in a while.

They all stood up, ready to return to the hub and order some food when a voice called out: "Dad!"

"Dad?" four confused voices repeated, as a blond girl threw herself at the Doctor, who looked just as confused.

"Jack, that's the alien who crashed.""What?" Jack looked even more confused now. "What the hell is this" he asked Martha.

"That's Jenny…. Who is dead."

"And Jenny is…" Jack looked at the blond again. "Kinda hot, actually."

"Jack, shut up" the Doctor said. He grabbed Jenny by the shoulders. "Is that really you?"

"It's really me" Jenny replied with a mega watt smile. "I have been looking everywhere for you!" She looked at Donna and Martha. "It's so good to see you again too…. But you all look so sad. What's going on?"

"She certainly sounds like him" Jack mumbled, as Jenny speed-talked herself through an introduction.

"Oh… Well…" The Doctor looked at Donna and Martha for help, but they both looked equally lost for words. "How are you here?"

"Oh, well I woke up after you left and then I just sort of decided to go see the universe, like you said, save planets and people and do a lot of running. I did a lot of running! And now I'm here…" She smiled again.

The Doctor smiled and hugged her again. For a second he could forget all the troubles in the world and just hug his daughter. "It's good to see you too" he whispered.

* * *

Owen had pretty much trashed the lab when the tears finally came. He didn't like crying, it made him feel weak; he preferred rage and anger. And by now he was so full of both that it was almost overwhelming. Rose was gone, she had been violently ripped from them and there was nothing he could do about it. It opened old wounds, making them bleed all over again. What use was all that fancy education of his, if he couldn't even save the lives of those he loved? First Katie and now Rose. Maybe he should just have become a plumber? Surely his life wouldn't be so shitty if he fixed pipes for a living. Or well, it probably would be full of shit, just a different kind.

He hated this, he hated his life and honestly, he kinda hated the people he worked with. He was still so full of resentment towards Jack because he let Katie die and Gwen… Gwen had stirred feelings in him he didn't like just to dump him again. Ianto was an vest-wearing idiot and Tosh was a pushover. Owen sent another a lamp flying. He really hated his life, everything was completely wrong and no matter what he did, he couldn't fix it. He couldn't fix his mother, he couldn't fix Katie and he couldn't fix Rose.

An image of her dropping to the ground, shock still registering in her eyes, flashed in his mind. She looked surprised most of all, dead eyes staring up in the air and blood pumping out of her chest. Jack had been the first on the ground, feverishly trying to stop the bleeding. The rational part of Owen's brain knew it was too late, she was already dead, but he dropped to the ground as well, steadying her head and trying to put pressure on the wound with Jack. He could remember Gwen screaming and Ianto pulling her back so she wouldn't get in her way, but it was pointless. In Owen's assessment Rose was long gone before she even hit the ground. He wasn't sure how long they had worked on her, Jack kept insisting she could be saved and Owen tried his best, but… What was the point?

The Master had disappeared when Owen rose, probably took off the second the bullet hit Rose. Smart move, Owen thought. Jack had carried Rose to the car and back at the hub a struggling Owen was forced to call the time of the death. He almost wished the bullet had hit him instead.

* * *

"So, let me see if I get this straight. You go to some desolated planet where a machine takes a tissue sample and out of the machine comes a grown what? Replica?"

"It's Progenation. Reproduction by a single organism. It means one parent is biological mother and father. You take a sample of diploid cells, split them into haploids then recombine them in a different arrangement and grow" the Doctor explained.

"I didn't understand a word of that" Jack said.

"She's my daughter."

"Oh, okay. Congratulations, I guess" Jack said, still looking rather confused.

"Who are these people" Jenny asked.

"Torchwood" Jack said. "Captain Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper and Tosh Sato."

"So what's going on? You all look sad. And there's something in the air."

Jack looked at the Doctor, who looked away. "We lost a member of our team today.""Oh how awful, I'm so sorry" Jenny said.

Jack just nodded. He was kinda taken back by this, the last thing he had expected was another Time Lord, or Lady, and especially not one who was the daughter of the Doctor. What puzzled him even more was her appearance; she looked like Rose. Jack definitely needed to talk with the Doctor in private, and not just about the Master and the cracks...

* * *

**A/N: This chapter tortured me. And that evil writer's block is most definitely back. Thanks for the reviews, faves and alerts, as always, they mean the world to me. And to one reviewer, acelili: Yes, really, I'm leaving it there. Rose is dead.  
****So, this weeks awesome thing: My bright yellow nail polish. It's just awesome! Not so awesome: My two bff's were in London last week and guess who they ran into: Matt Smith! And I wasn't there. I'm not sure how I'm going to get over that one.  
****Next chapter is going to tie some of the many loose ends and actually have some sort of action - that's the plan, anyways. I haven't written it yet, but hopefully it won't take this long again.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Bad moon rising**

All these secrets were giving Jack a headache. The Doctor refused to share anything personal, Gwen was sick but wouldn't say of what, Owen had complete trashed the lab, Jack couldn't confide in his team, Martha was in love with the Doctor and lord knows what Rose was turning into before she died. How the hell where they ever supposed to handle both the Master and these cracks when no one wanted to share what they knew?

"I really need to talk to you" Jack said to the Doctor, as they all walked back to the hub. "It's important."

The Doctor slowed his pace and the two of them fell behind the group. "What?"

"The cracks!"

"What cracks?"

"There are cracks, in the universe, between the dimensions" Jack said.

"Oh… Well, that makes sense" the Doctor said with a thoughtful expression.

"How does that makes sense?"

"A lot of people crossed over, the fabric between the dimensions would be torn and then… cracks. Add to that a Time Lord and the rift, well it really was only a matter of time."

"So how do we fix it?"

"I don't know. Opening the rift would only make it worse and obviously we can't just send everything back to it's original place."

"Great, so the walls of the universe are going to collapse on us. Guess we don't have to worry about the Master then."

"Don't joke, Jack. This is serious" the Doctor stated in a warning tone.

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do, then? My best friend is dead, my team is falling apart and I have no idea what to do about either the cracks or the Master. So tell me how I'm supposed to react, because I sure as hell don't know" Jack sneered.

"You think you're the only one? You're an idiot Jack, always have been, always will be. And if you would just open your eyes you would see this is bigger than you and me, it's bigger than Rose! You need to stop playing around or you'll end up getting all of us killed!" The last part was almost growled and the Doctor turned to walk away before Jack could respond.

* * *

Martha looked around at the trashed lab. "Nice…"

"Owen has anger issues" Gwen said, sitting down.

"Apparently." Martha made a face. "So, you've been feeling ill?"

"Been throwing up, sleeping badly, losing focus. Which is really a problem in this line of work."

"Any family history of that?"

"Losing focus? Plenty, but that's just because my family is stupid… Rose was sick before…. Well, before. Like fever and vomit. You think I caught something?"

"Maybe" Martha said. "Do you know what was wrong with her?"

"No, Owen couldn't find anything. He said her blood was clean."

"Maybe it was just a bug" Martha suggested. "It's November, so it's not impossible it was just the flu or something."

"Yeah, maybe" Gwen said, as Martha took a bloodsample.

"When was your last period?"

Gwen suddenly widened her eyes. "Oh shit!"

* * *

The Doctor, Jack, Donna, Tosh, Jenny and Ianto were sitting in the conference room, staring at each other. The atmosphere made Jenny, who wasn't used to situations like these, extremely uncomfortable.

"We could send the Master back to the other universe" Tosh suggested.

"No, we don't want to open the rift again" the Doctor said.

"And he'd probably just wreak havoc there as well" Jack added.

"We could look him up" Donna said.

"He'd just get out" the Doctor said in a tired voice.

"Who is this Master guy" Jenny asked.

"He's like your uncle" Jack said.

The Doctor sent Jack a reproachful glare. "He is _not _your uncle. He's a Time Lord, like me…"

"Only really evil" Donna said.

"And crazy" Ianto added.

"Oh… And you said something about cracks" Jenny asked.

"Yes, because everybody have been completely irresponsible and ignored my wise advice, the universe is about to collapse on us" the Doctor said.

"And you lost a team member to these cracks?" Jenny really just wanted to know what exactly was going on.

"To the Master" Jack corrected. "Her name was Rose." He gave the Doctor a pointed glare.

"She was…. A friend of mine. Ow!" The Doctor looked at Donna, who had just kicked him under the table. "What?"

"Don't lie to your daughter" Donna said in a sharp tone, before turning to Jenny. "She was like your… well, step mum, I guess."

"What?" Jenny looked even more confused now and the Doctor was furiously rubbing his temples.

"Maybe this is a talk for another time" Jack suggested.

"Perhaps Jenny and the Doctor should have a moment for themselves" Donna countered.

"And perhaps we should save this family reunion until the walls of the universe aren't rumbling down upon us or Rose's killer is caught?" Jack had raised his voice now.

"Maybe this is more important" Donna said in an equally loud voice.

"Listen, if you think I'm gonna take the advise of some ginger temp from London than you are extremely wrong!"

"Is that so? Well listen you enormous git, I don't care what the bloody hell you think! The universe can bloody well wait five bleeding minutes…"

"Enough" the Doctor suddenly yelled. "Everybody, except Jenny, get out!"

"What" Jack argued.

"Get out" the Doctor repeated.

Donna, Jack, Tosh and Ianto got up and left the room. The Doctor looked at Jenny. "Being surrounded by apes really gives me a headache!"

* * *

* * *

Outside the conference room, Donna and Jack were about to continue their argument, when Gwen suddenly appeared. Jack rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed right now was Gwen demanding another talk. "Not not, Gwen" he said and tried to sidestep her.

"Jack, I'm pregnant…"

"Congratulations?" It came out more as a question than an actual statement of congratulation.

"It might be yours…."

"Oh…"

"Yes. So I'm gonna need you to pee in this cup." Gwen handed him a cup before turning around and leaving him standing there, with the cup, looking like he'd just been hit over the head.

"Do you sleep with all your employees" Donna asked with a snigger.

"In hindsight, that was probably a bad idea" Jack said, still staring at the spot Gwen had been a few moments before.

Donna smirked at him. "Have fun with your cup."

Jack stared blankly at her and then left in the directions of the toilets.

"Never a dull moment at Torchwood" Tosh said with a worried look at Ianto, who looked just as a surprised as Jack.

"You think…" He gestured at the directions Gwen and Jack had left in.

"Tell you what, that's gonna be one messed up child" Donna said with a laugh and left Ianto and Tosh standing there.

"You think she's having both of them tested" Tosh asked.

"Rhys and Jack? Apparently. Probably also Owen."

"What? Why, I thought that was a long time ago" Tosh said with a confused look.

"I caught them in the storage room two months ago." Ianto rolled his eyes. "Come on, I want to be there when she asks Owen to pee in a cup."

* * *

The Doctor found Jack in his office, staring at a cup filled with… "Is that pee?"

"Yes."

"Your pee?" The Doctor had a quizzical look on his face.

"Yes."

"Oh-kay… I want to take a walk around Cardiff, see if I can get wind of the Master."

"Wind of him?"

"I can smell him. And feel him." At Jack's weird look, the Doctor added: "It's a Time Lord thing."

"I just have to give this to Martha" Jack said.

"Why? No, actually, don't tell me, I think I'm better off not knowing."

Jack found Martha and handed her the cup with a fake smile and left the hub with the Doctor.

"So how does this work?"

"What?"

"How do you find him?"

"Time Lords are telepaths. So I should be able to sense him. And he doesn't smell like monkey, so he stands out in this crowd."

"You know, you really need to work on your manners. Did you call Rose a monkey too?"

"I called her an ape once or twice. But she thought it was funny" the Doctor said in a defensive tone.

"Dollars to donuts, she hated it."

"What? Why?"

"Well, unless you're actually a monkey, it's offensive! No one likes to be called stupid apes, not even stupid apes!"

"You're very sensitive, Jack. Is it the impending fatherhood?"

"Shut up" Jack just grumbled. They walked together in silence for a while, until Jack couldn't contain himself any longer. "So, you have a daughter now."

"Yes."

"When did it happen?"

"I told you, we went to this planet called Messadine…"

"No, when did you start calling her daugther? Because I know you, doc, and you don't do domestics, so I figure you put up one held of a fight. Especially considering her looks."

"What's wrong with her looks?"

"Nothing. She's hot, but she looks a bit like Rose. That didn't make you feel uncomfortable?"

"We don't choose how we look, Jack…" Jack snorted at this. "Not even me."

"So, purely coincidental that you look forty years younger and a lot hotter this time around."

"I did not look seventy years old before! I was… Special."

"Got that right" Jack mumbled.

"Could you just focus on this, please?"

"What, it's not like I know how to find the man."

"Then just be quiet."

* * *

Owen had been hovering around his desk since there was nothing more to throw around in the lab. He had spotted Gwen talking in hushed tones with that Martha person and then walking with determination in her steps, towards Jack, handing him a cup. It didn't take a genius to figure this one out and Owen decided to slip out, before he was awarded one of the little cups as well. This was something he was keen to avoid for as long as possible.

He walked around the hub aimlessly for some time, checking in on Janet and throwing their basketball around a little, before he ended up in front of the morgue. He debated with himself whether he should go in or just move on; maybe he could get a little closure, just seeing her this last time. He looked at the door and noticed it wasn't closed. "That's odd" he mumbled and pushed it open. Everything looked like it used to, except the container Rose had been placed in was open. Had one of the others been down there? He looked around and noticed damp footprints on the floor, leading from the container to the door. "Okay" he Owen called out in a shaky voice. "This isn't funny, who ever did this. Kinda sick, actually…" No one responded. Owen sighed, what the hell was going on here. He knew Torchwood was weird, but this… This was weird, even for Torchwood.

* * *

Jack was standing in the middle of Cardiff with the Doctor, when his phone started to ring. "Yes?"

"Jack, Rose is gone."

Jack sighed. "Owen, I know this is hard for you, it's hard for all of us…"

"Listen, you twat, she's gone, like literally gone. Her body is missing!"

"What the hell do you mean her body is missing?" His raised voice attracted the attention of the Doctor and several onlookers.

"Like it's not here, obviously!"

"Okay, so where is it?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"How the hell can you not know? What, someone just walked out of the hub with her body in tow?"

"I think… Oh god this is going to sound so crazy… I think the body walked away on its own."

There was a moments silence over the line and Jack and the Doctor shared confused looks. "Excuse me?"

"There are these footprints, it's the right size and they start in the morgue" Owen explained.

"So you're saying Rose walked out of the morgue on her own?" The Doctor raised both eyebrows at this.

"It's a theory" Owen said, feeling somewhat sceptical himself.

"Well, it's a crappy theory" Jack yelled. "You think she just woke up and decided to go for a walk?"

"I don't know."

"Find the damn body" Jack yelled and hung up.

* * *

**A/N: I kinda rushed this chapter, because I felt bad for how I left things in the last one. And I know a lot of you aren't exactly happy with me because of it. So hopefully a quick update and a chapter with a little plot can ease you all a little. I think there's like two of three chapters left and then it's the end. Kinda weird, actually, as I have never written anything this long, ever! And I want to thank everyone who have read this for making it really a really special and great experience.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Bad romance**

"What do you mean _'I lost Rose'_?"

"Tosh, I'm telling you, I'm standing down in the morgue and her body is gone!"

Tosh looked at Ianto, who looked rather sceptical as well. "Owen, how did you um, lose her?"

"I think she walked out on her own."

"I think he's lost it" Tosh whispered to Ianto, who nodded. He looked at the intercom they were currently communicating through, like it somehow held all the answers.

"Say the body walked out on it's own…. What do you want us to do about it" Ianto asked.

"I need a lockdown of the hub. She's dead, so I'm thinking she didn't get very far."

"Yes, that does make sense" Ianto said in a sarcastic tone. "Let's just completely ignore the fact that she is in fact a dead body and instead focus on her speed of movement."

"Lockdown" Owen yelled and shut off the communication.

"What's going on" Martha yelled at the whole hub was enveloped in darkness and the doors started to lock around them.

"We're in lockdown" Tosh said as the emergency light turned on and an eerie red light filled the hub.

Ianto tossed Martha and Donna a flashlight each. "We're going body hunting!"

* * *

"I don't understand how Rose could just walk out of the morgue. She was in a body bag, in a container… In the morgue!"

The Doctor massaged his temples. "It's not Rose. Not anymore."

"Then, what? Her ghost?" Jack didn't understand anything anymore.

"No. It's the Bad Wolf."

"I thought that was dormant in her?"

"Yeah, because Rose was, well, inhabiting her own body there was no place for the Bad Wolf and the battle between them was killing Rose. So I contained it, inside her. Sure, it would rear it's head once in a while, like if Rose was in danger, but she was still Rose, still human."

"Why did it save her?"

"Self-preservation, I presume. The Bad Wolf probably didn't want anything to happen to Rose, maybe it thought if Rose died, it would die too? That's how she ended up here, I guess. Knowing the Master would destroy her, the Bad Wolf brought her back here, and since it couldn't bring Rose to the TARDIS with me, it brought her to you instead, the second safest place for her."

"But Rose was shot."

"And she died. Leaving her body empty, and the Bad Wolf filled it out. Her body, apart from a bullet hole, is fine."

"So the Bad Wolf is wearing Rose?" Jack gave the Doctor a look. "That's just… so weird!"

"It doesn't exactly work like that, but yes, the Bad Wolf is wearing Rose."

"So it wanted her to die?"

"I don't know, I don't think so. But when Rose died, it came out of hiding. Jack, this is dangerous, do you understand that?"

"The Bad Wolf is dangerous?"

"I don't even know fully what it is or what it want, what its powers are. But my guess would be it's not called Bad Wolf because it likes to watch East Enders and cuddle. We need to find it."

Now it was Jack's turn to massage his temples. "We need to find a rogue Time Lord with a serious personality flaw and some mystical creature wearing Rose as a suit?"

"You could be more respectful about this" the Doctor said in a strict tone.

"Doc, come on. This is so far off the scale of crazy that's it's just… It's insane and I don't know whether to laugh or cry anymore" Jack said with a faint smile.

"Cry" the Doctor commanded. "It's less immature and annoying!"

* * *

"This is insane" Jenny said. "You're all insane!"

"Because we have a runaway body, or because we're looking for the runaway body" Gwen asked.

"Both! This is just…"

"Weird? Yeah, welcome to Torchwood, now go that way and look for the body" Owen said and directed her down an empty hall, engulfed in the creepy red light.

"What am I supposed to do if I find her" Jenny asked.

"Tell her she's been a bad body for running away, then bring her back" Owen said.

"Just, detain her or something. Call us and we'll come help you, okay" Gwen said in a reassuring tone.

"I'll come with you" Donna offered and turned on her own flashlight. They walked down the hallway, flashing the light in every creek of the wall. "This is creepy" Donna said.

"How was she? Rose…"

"Nice… I didn't really get to know her, only met her briefly. But your father always spoke highly of her."

"Was he in love with her?"

Donna sighed. "Yes, he loved her."

"Why wasn't she with him then? I don't understand, if he loved her so much, why weren't they together?"

"It's hard for him. He's lost so many people and I think it was easier for him to keep Rose at arm's length, that way he wouldn't get hurt if something happened."

"And she just accepted that? You humans are weird" Jenny muttered.

"I think she hoped he would change his mind. Which he did…"

"But it was too late" Jenny asked and Donna nodded. "That's really sad."

"Yes, and now she seems to have run away" Donna said. "The last bit is more scary than sad, actually. What do you think happened?"

"I don't know. Maybe she's like me? I woke from being dead too."

"Rose was human. You're Time Lord. Lady?"

"Lady. It's my experience that humans, who are dead, usually stay dead. So something must have happened" Jenny argued.

"Yeah well, whatever it was, let's hope she's not to far gone."

* * *

* * *

"He's here?" Jack looked at the sign. "It's an abandoned building site."

"It's perfect" the Doctor said.

"Of course it is. So, the Master lives here?"

"No, but he's here somewhere, right now. With someone else."

"He has an accomplice. A woman he calls the Headhunter. That's all I know."

"Oh I know who she is. Bounty hunter, of sorts. We've met before."

"Something I need to worry about?"

"Just, watch out for her legs…"

Jack gave the Doctor a look, but didn't say anything and they entered the site. A strangled yell caught their attention and they both took of running towards the sound. The Master was standing in the middle of the of the site, looking extremely distraught. "No… NO! This can't be" he yelled at someone.

"Is that Rose" Jack whispered.

In front of the Master stood something that looked like Rose, engulfed in a orange light burning from her body and eyes. She was dressed in something that looked like Owen's scrubs and holding her left hand against the Master. It sent a weird orange glow towards him and he crumpled on the ground, screaming.

"I see you, Time Lord, all of you, and I condemn you for your crimes. You will become what you despise the most: human, forced to live a human life. That will be your eternal punishment!"

"That is not Rose" the Doctor said. "That's the Bad Wolf."

"What the hell is it doing?"

"It's turning him human, I think" the Doctor said and took a few steps closer to the thing that was Rose, but not really Rose.

"Hello Doctor" the Bad Wolf said and turned to look at the Doctor and Jack. "I was waiting."

"What have you done" the Doctor asked, looking at the Master, who was passed out on the ground.

"I punished him for what he did."

"So you just commandeered Rose's body once she left it" Jack asked in a harsh tone. It was just wrong, seeing Rose like that, knowing it wasn't really her.

"She's still in here, somewhere. Her death freed me, but I held on to her. She'll be fine, eventually."

Jack didn't understand anything of that, but apparently the Doctor did and he looked mortified. "Let her go, this is wrong! Rose Tyler is dead!"

"Rose Tyler is going to live forever."

"But she won't be Rose Tyler anymore" the Doctor pleaded. "You've taken her humanity from her, her mortality. Everything that made her Rose is gone!"

"You think her mortality made her Rose? It didn't! It just made her human and now she is so much more. You should rejoice, Time Lord! Rose Tyler is saved!" The not quite Rose in front of them smiled.

"She won't be the same again."

"She'll be better! Don't you understand, this is a good thing. She wanted this, she wanted to be with you forever. And now she can!"

"But I have to open her mind to you, let you in?" There were tears in his eyes now.

"Yes. That's the condition. Without me, she dies."

"You can't ask that, it's not fair" the Doctor said in a small tone.

"Are you gonna let her die? Again?"

The Doctor turned to look at Jack. "Jack, it's not right. It's not gonna be Rose…"

"I don't care" Jack yelled. "Bring her back!"

"Jack please understand…"

"No! I lost her, so many times! She's all I have, she's my family, I love her and I'm not gonna let you let her die again! Fix her." Jack pointed his gun at the Doctor. "Now!"

* * *

"Jackie's awake…"

Gwen's voice sounded weird over the walkie-talkie and made Owen sigh. This day had gone from bad to worse in a matter of moments. "Did you tell her?"

"That her dead daughter has wandered off? No, I gave her a cup of tea and placed her in the conference room with Pete. They're wondering about the lights, though."

"Turn them on, it's pointless. She's not here, we've looked everywhere. Have you talked to Jack?"

"No, I tried calling him, but I just got his voicemail" Gwen said. "Are you ok?"

"No…" It came out as a small laugh. "This day… It's insane, what we do, who we are… It's just…"

"Insane, yeah" Gwen agreed. "What do you think happened to her?"

"I don't know." Owen planted himself in their basement, next to Janet's cell. He knew it was a testament to his mental state that he found it peaceful down here. He could hear Gwen sigh on the other end. "You holding up?"

"No… This is an emotional rollercoaster. I talked to Rhys today…"

"And how is good old Rhys?"

"Angry, not that I blame him. I treated him badly and now I'm…" Gwen stopped herself.

"Gwen I know you're pregnant" Owen said.

"This isn't exactly how I wanted to tell you" Gwen said with a small smile.

"Doesn't matter, the outcome's the same. I'll take the test."

"Thanks…" She was just about to ask how he felt about it (somehow it was so much easier to have a conversation with Owen if he wasn't in the same room - the walkie-talkie made it easier for them both), when her phone started to ring. "Jack?"

"We found Rose" Jack said over the phone. "We're on our way back to the hub. The Master is here as well."

Gwen noted the weirdness in Jack's tone. "Is everything alright?"

"Just… Make sure Jackie isn't there when we bring Rose in. And have Owen prepare something, chloroform or something like that, to the Master." He hung up.

Gwen started the procedure to turn off the lockdown, starting with turning on the normal lights. She squinted a little in the harsh white light, but also enjoyed her moment of silence. She couldn't even remember the last time there was silence like this and it soothed her, if only for a second. Her nerves were worn thin and her emotions all over the place; the last month or so had been unbearable, she didn't even know how she had gotten through it. And she was scared for herself and for her unborn child, whose father was either a very boring former truck driver from Wales, a taciturn sourpuss doctor with a serious commitment issue or a maybe-alien from the future, stuck in the past with an even worse commitment issue. She kinda hoped the baby was Rhys', at least that would make one its parents normal.

"Owen, Jack needs you to prepare some sedative, they're bringing back the Master" she said over the walkie-talkie. "I'll get hold of the others and tell them to met us up here."

"Roger that" Owen's sarcastic voice answered and cut off their connection.

"This is Gwen. Lockdown is over, please return to the main area" Gwen called out over the intercom to the others. She sat down at her desk and waited. There was nothing else to do.

* * *

Jack was the first one inside, carrying Rose, wedding style, through the door. "Owen, I need you now" he yelled.

Owen handed the syringe with the sedative to Martha. "You know what to do?" Martha nodded. "Good girl." He followed Jack towards their med-bay.

Next inside was the Doctor with a zombie-like Master in tow.

"What the hell happened" Donna almost yelled at him. "Looks like someone turned off the lights in him."

"Someone did" the Doctor said.

Martha looked at the Master and then at her syringe. It felt pretty pointless, he looked like he was halfway asleep already. "Um, Owen gave me this…"

"It's not necessary" the Doctor said, leading the Master towards Jack office.

Donna, Martha, Jenny, Tosh, Ianto and Gwen looked at each other. "I feel left out" Gwen said. "And someone should probably go talk to Jackie…"

Everybody averted their eyes; no one felt like talking to the she-lion currently residing in the conference room. It was a wonder she hadn't disturbed them so far.

"I say Ianto goes" Donna said, giving Ianto a light push forward.

"Why do I have to go?"

"You're likeable…. And Jackie's not, so it'll equal out" Donna explained.

"I don't care, I'm not going. Gwen should go, she has most experience with these things."

"Like we often had to tell parents that their dead children had run away from the morgue, when I was a P.O." Gwen said.

"Fine, let's vote then. Anyone for sweet and compassionate Gwen, who has experience with these kind of situations" Ianto said and immediately everybody, except of course Gwen herself, raised their hands.

"I hate you guys" Gwen mumbled.

* * *

"What happened?"

"How are you feeling" the Doctor asked.

"Like someone scrambled my brain. What happened" the Master asked again.

"Do you remember anything?"

"Yeah, getting my head scrambled! Tell me what happened." It was meant as an order but came out more like a drowsy request.

"You shot Rose Tyler."

"Did I? That's nice…"

"She died" the Doctor said in a flat tone.

"Good…. That's good, I hated her. She was mean to me" the Master said an rested his head on Jack's desk. "I'm so tired, why am I so tired?"

"Do you know the Bad Wolf?"

"Yes… It's a myth, some weird old deity of some kind. Why?"

"You met it today. It's taken refuge in Rose's body, you see…. And then you shot her."

"Oh…" There was a clear tone of worry in the Master's voice all of the sudden. "That's bad, right? This is bad for me."

"It is. How are you feeling?"

"I don't know, weak and weird, like something is missing…" The Master paused and raised his head. "She stopped one of my hearts?"

"No…"

"But… No. No no no no no no NO! She couldn't have, she wouldn't? She can't have!"

"She did. I'm sorry, but it would seem like you're no longer a Time Lord."

"But, how is that possible?"

"I don't know" the Doctor replied honestly. And he really didn't. The inner works of the Bad Wolf and its powers were beyond his knowledge.

"What am I supposed to do" the Master asked pathetically.

"I don't know."

* * *

"Is she alive?"Owen checked Rose's pulse, her heart, her breathing, everything. "Yes she seems to be. What the hell happened out there?"

Jack almost collapsed on a nearby chair and breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't even know. We found the Master on some god-forsaken building site and Rose was there, but she wasn't Rose, she was glowing and saying all these weird things." Jack made a face. "And she asked the Doctor to do something, let the Bad Wolf in, something like that… He touched her head and they just stood there, for some time and then she just collapsed."

Owen looked at Jack. "That doesn't make any sense, at all! But she seems alive, her vitals are good and stabile, she just needs to wake up."

"When will she wake up?"

"Let me just look in my magic ball…. What am I, a psychic. She'll wake up when she does, if she does" Owen replied.

Jack stared at Owen. "She's gonna wake up!"

"If she does wake up, then what?"

Jack sighed. "I don't know." Just as he said that, Rose violently lurched forward with a huge gasp of air.

* * *

* * *

Gwen slammed the door behind her and rested her head on it. "You ok?" She opened her eyes and saw the Doctor standing outside Jack's office, looking at her. "Jackie's in there…"

"Oh?"

"And I just told her about Rose, how we lost her body and everything…"

"Oh…" The Doctor said with a knowing look on his face. "Jackie's definitely… She's something."

"Oh yeah! Pete's trying to calm her down, but he seemed pretty upset too. And I don't think I explained it very well, I don't even know what happened. Maybe you should talk to them?" Judging by the look in the Doctor's eyes, Gwen guessed that wasn't really an option. "Maybe not. She'll calm down, right? Once she sees Rose is alright. Rose is alright, right?"

"I don't know."

"There seems to be a lot of that going around here" Gwen muttered. "What's wrong with her?"

"I can't tell."

"But there is something in her, something inside her. She said so before she died."

"A couple of years ago, Rose looked into the time vortex and absorbed it. Something called the Bad Wolf took over her body…"

"But… That's what someone wrote on my car. And our sign…"

"It's the Bad Wolf's way of announcing it's presence. When Rose died it simply took over her body."

"So… It's not Rose? Downstairs right now, that's not Rose?"

"Not entirely no… Not anymore. I'm sorry…"

"I don't understand that. How can it not be her" Gwen asked as a tear rolled down her cheek. "She's my best friend. And I've been through enough now, so please just tell me how it can't be her anymore?"

"The Bad Wolf hung on to Rose when she died, she was still in there too. And now, slowly, Rose and the Bad Wolf will turn into one consciousness, one person."

"But that's still Rose…"

"It might be, but…" The Doctor sighed. He didn't expect there would be anything left of Rose once the Bad Wolf was done, it would just be Rose's body, but something else inside and it would be unbearable to look at. He was already planning where to go next and nurse his broken hearts.

"She'll still be Rose" Gwen said with conviction in her voice. She refused to give up hope, if there was a chance they would get Rose back, even just half or her or however this worked, it was worth it. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. "Jack?"

"Gwen, could you find the Doctor and get him down to the med-bay? Someone wants to talk to him" Jack asked.

"Yeah, sure, we'll be down in a minute." She turned to the Doctor. "Jack wants to see you in the med-bay."

"Oh I'm sure he does" the Doctor mumbled, but followed Gwen nonetheless. When all this mess was sorted out, or as sorted out as it would ever get, he wasn't going to kick Jack's ass for pulling a gun on him! Pacifism be damned, the Doctor was furious!

* * *

* * *

Jack and Owen were standing outside the med-bay when Gwen and the Doctor got down there. Jack and the Doctor shared a look, but both seemed reluctant to say anything. Owen looked at Gwen, who felt uncomfortable in the weird silence. Weren't they supposed to see Rose? Finally, Jack opened his mouth. "We'll give you two some privacy, but please keep in mind Jackie is upstairs and probably very eager to see her daughter." He grabbed both Owen and Gwen and walked off with them in tow.

The Doctor brazed himself against the door and slowly opened it. Inside sat Rose, still in the scrubs. "Hello" she greeted him in a tired voice.

"How are you feeling?" He closed the door behind him and leaned up against it.

"Weird. Dying and then having to share your body… No singing this time, either."

He smiled a little at her attempted joke. "Disappointing…"

She shrugged. "I'll live, hopefully."

"You remember?"

She nodded. "You can come closer, it's still me."

"It's not, though… You have to share."

"I know."

"Rose, I'm so sorry…"

"Don't!" It came out hasher than she intended. "All this time, the Bad Wolf has been inside me and it's been ok. I've been ok. And I'll be ok this time too."

"It will be different" the Doctor argued. "You'll change, be able to do things…"

"What things?"

"I don't know."

"So, take me with you, help me…" Rose looked at him with glinting eyes. "If you leave again… I don't think I'm strong enough..." This shook the Doctor out of his reverie; he walked over to her and gently touched her cheek. "I want to come with you, I missed you so much. And I accepted you, when you changed. I think you owe me" she said with a small smile.

"You're right, I do. But Rose, I'm all messed up, I'm still angry and I still have to work out some issues."

"I don't care. I love you, all of you, all the revenge and the horror. I just want your love."

He smiled. "I can't guarantee anything; it could be bad…"

"So it'll be bad… I don't want to be friends, not anymore…"

"Okay."

* * *

**A/N: One chapter left. This was longer than usual, but I think I had a lot to say (or write). Hopefully you're not too disappointed. Thanks for all the reviews, it really means so much to me that you take the time to comment on something I've been obsessing over and I hope everyone will help me by reviewing and telling me what they think. Really, that's the best way to grow and improve as a writer.  
And since the end is nigh, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who have read the story so far: THANK YOU for spending your time in my little fantasy land, complete with weird humour and crazy aliens.  
Lots and lots of love to you all. Anne**


	28. Chapter 28

**Thanks for the memories**

"I don't understand anything" Jackie sobbed, as she hugged her daughter.

"It's okay mum, you don't have to" Rose said with a smile. "I'm okay…"

"What happened" Jackie asked, still refusing to let go of Rose.

Rose gave the Doctor a look and he awkwardly cleared his throat. "It's um… The TARDIS, yeah…. The TARDIS does that, sometimes" he lied, and not even very convincing. Luckily Jackie had never been a stickler for details and now that Rose seemed safe and unharmed again, that was really all that mattered.

"Can I talk to you" Jack asked in a hushed voice.

"Jack you're lucky I didn't drag you back to the fifteenth century and left you there. Shut up" the Doctor growled.

Pete gave the Doctor a suspicious glare, but didn't say anything. He knew it was a complete lie, something else had happened, something to do with Rose, who wasn't really Rose anymore, but Pete also knew it would probably be impossible to get a straight answer out of anyone, so he let it go. For now, at least. "What about Harry Saxon?"

"That's not actually his name" the Doctor pointed out, as all three men moved a little away from Rose and Jackie to talk in private.

"If you think I'm gonna call the man who shot my daughter for 'Master', you're very wrong" Pete pointed out. "What do we do with him?"

"He's human now, so you take care of him" the Doctor said.

Jack and Pete gave each other a look. "I don't want him" Jack said with a grimace.

"And I do? He tried to kill my entire family" Pete said.

"He did actually kill my friend! And he plotted to destroy my team" Jack argued.

"But she came back, didn't she? And he's human now, so you'll be able to control him" the Doctor said.

"So will you! Besides, I don't have room for anyone as stupid as him, and Gwen would probably try to sleep with him!"

"I already have Mickey, you think I need anymore idiots?"

"Oh would you look at the two of you, bickering like an old married couple" the Doctor said with an eye roll.

"Why don't you take him, then?"

"I don't want him! Hand him over to UNIT or something, they'll know what to do."

"Technically, he's your responsibility" Jack pointed out.

"What? That doesn't make any sense, how the hell is he my responsibility?"

"He's Time Lord" Pete said.

"Not anymore! He's human, so he's your responsibility. Plus, he'll just make fun of my TARDIS and I don't want that" the Doctor said with a frown. "He's all yours, my parting gift to you."

"Parting" Jack asked. "You're leaving?"

"Yes. No reason to stay here anymore."

"What about Rose" Pete asked, suddenly.

"Rose is coming."

"Don't you think it's gonna be a bit crowded in the TARDIS? You, Rose, Donna, Martha and Jenny" Jack asked.

"Which is why the Master stays on earth. Besides, he might just prove valuable, he's not exactly stupid."

"But he _is _a complete mental case _and_ evil! I have enough with Owen, I don't need another head case!"

"Jackie's gonna murder him! And then me, if she ever finds out he's here. I can't take him" Pete said.

The Doctor looked at Jack. "You take him! Who knows, maybe two wrongs do make a right" the Doctor said and suddenly smiled. "Hello there."

Jack and Pete hadn't even noticed Rose sneaking up on them. "Mum went to call the sitter. You ready to go say goodbye to everyone?" She gave the Doctor a look that made Jack feel a little envious.

"How did your mum take it?"

"Bit sad, but I promised we would stop by a lot."

"Rose" the Doctor whined, "I hate when you say "we", you know that. You use that word much to often! And I always have to do things when you do."

"You'll manage, I'm sure" Rose said with a smile. "You okay, Jack?"

"Yeah, it's just been a very trying day" he said, forcing a smile. It was hard not to cry right now, because Rose was leaving him, probably for good, and the Doctor too. And he knew the Doctor was much to angry with him to ever consider bringing him along, and he still had a responsibility to his team.

* * *

"I can't believe your leaving" Gwen whispered, hugging Rose. Tears made their way down her cheeks. "I'm gonna miss you so much."

"I'll come visit, I promise" Rose said.

"You better, you're gonna be an auntie!"

"Have you told him yet?"

Gwen shook her head. "I'm … I'm not sure I'm gonna. Rhys, he asked me to marry him. It might be my last chance at a normal life, or as normal as it gets when you work for Torchwood."

Rose gave her a little smile. "Normal is boring anyways. But no matter what, you're gonna be a great mum. And he's a good guy, Gwen, deep down. Just don't tell him around anything sharp."

Gwen smiled through the tears. "I'll be sure to remove all things dangerous, should I tell him, I promise. Now… Be safe out there, ok? I don't care if you're like a superhuman now, you still need to be careful. No pissing off any mean aliens!"

"I'll do my very best" Rose said, starting to cry as well. She would really miss Gwen, they had become such good friends and she knew, no matter how much she loved travelling with the Doctor, she sometimes would need a good friend to talk to.

Next on in line to hug was Ianto. "I'll miss you."

"Liar" she whispered, as he hugged her. "You take care now, okay? Watch out for them all, they need someone to make sure they're alright."

"I will" Ianto said with a sad smile. He and Rose hadn't gotten of on the best foot, but he had liked her, genuinely liked her. She had been a wonderful addition to the team, making them all smile and laugh when they needed it.

"This is so sad" Tosh whispered and wiped away a tear.

Rose smiled and gave her a hug. "Be good, yeah? I'll miss you!"

This only made Tosh cry more, just like Gwen. Although Owen had fancied Rose, Tosh had still liked her. She was nice, and she made both Owen and Jack nice too. Tosh would probably miss that the most. "Here, it's my number. If anything weird happens…"

"Thanks" Rose said, feeling her own tears starting to push. Goodbyes were hard and somehow this felt so permanent, not like when she said goodbye to her mother back when she travelled with the Doctor. This was a proper goodbye, not "see you later".

"I hate goodbyes" Owen said. "And hugs, I don't like hugs either."

Rose smiled as a tear trickled down her cheek. "So, how about 'until next time?' That better?"

"It's a lie" Owen said.

"It doesn't have to be" Rose said in a small tone. "And I love hugs, so you have to give me one anyways."

Owen grumpily complied. "You call me, if you ever want a real doctor, yeah?"

"I will!"

Last in line from Torchwood three was Jack. He engulfed Rose in a warm hug. "I love you!"

She swallowed and let the tears flow freely. "Thank you, for everything! I love you too" she said in a shaky voice. "I'll miss you so much."

"Promise to come back and see your old friend?"

She nodded into his shoulder. "Be good, Jack. We'll see each other again!"

Rose was openly crying, as Jack let go. She looked at the five team members. "I just want you to know, that my time here…. It was amazing! Thank you for everything" she sobbed and the Doctor gently took her hand to offer her some support. She looked at Jackie and Pete. "I'll come home soon, see you all, I promise." They hugged and it was hard to determine who was crying the most now; Gwen, Rose, Jackie or Donna.

"I suppose we should get going" the Doctor said.

"Actually" Martha suddenly said and all turned to look at her. "I think I'll stay here. Pete told me I could finish my education at Torchwood one and I recon they could use a good Doctor."

"You're staying" Donna asked in a shocked voice.

"Yeah… The TARDIS will be crowded with all of us anyway. I think this is better" she said with a sad smile. "Rose, it was lovely to meet you. I'm so happy you found each other."

"You sure" the Doctor asked.

"It's time" Martha said and took a deep breath. "Thank you for the most wonderful experiences, I'll never forget them. Or you" she said and hugged the Doctor. "And you, Donna, it has been so much fun."

Donna, who was now in leading position as the one who was crying the most, hugged Martha. "It has. You take care now!"

Martha nodded, now also crying, and looked at Jenny. "You be good, yeah? Look after your father, he'll need that."

Jenny smiled at her. "Take care Martha."

Jack looked at the scene, people crying and hugging. It was a bit more than he could take. "Doctor, what about the cracks?"

"You monitor them! I'll do the same. And for god's sake Jack, try not to destroy the universe or something like that! And you, Ogden" the Doctor pointed a finger at Owen. "No more playing with the rift or you'll make the whole universe collapse on our heads."

"I'll try to contain myself" Owen replied sarcastically.

"So this is it, then" Jack asked. "The final goodbye?"

"Nothing is final, Jack, you of all people should know that" the Doctor said with a raised eyebrow.

The last hugs were dealt out, and especially Jackie had a hard time letting go, but after a few reassurings from her daughter, she said goodbye too and the Doctor, Rose, Donna and Jenny entered the TARDIS.

* * *

* * *

"I hate goodbyes" Rose sighed, as she sat down.

"You think they'll be alright" Donna asked.

"Probably not, that useless Captain Jack will get them in more trouble than good is" the Doctor said, tinkering a little with the controls.

"What about that Master" Jenny asked. "What will happen to him now?"

"Yeah, what happened to him" Rose asked. The Doctor had tried to explain what had happened after she was shot, but it was still fuzzy.

"I think he'll either be forced to work for Jack or be handed over to UNIT, who no doubt have a very nice cell waiting for him" the Doctor said. "I don't know which is worse." The Doctor felt a little guilty for leaving him behind, but on the other hand there was little he could do for him now and in his given state, maybe travelling around with two Time Lords and a human-hybrid might not be the best idea. Jack would take him in, he would have to. They could use the Master's knowledge in regards to the cracks. They needed as much help as possible with those, even the Doctor had no idea what exactly they meant and what would happen in the future.

"Jack wasn't that bad" Jenny said with a dreamily smile, that made the Doctor nervous.

"I'll stop you right there, before your father has a stroke" Rose said. "We'll check in on them, make sure they're all fine."

"What's an auntie" Jenny asked. "I heard Gwen talking."Donna and Rose gave each other a look. "It's family" Rose said.

"Are you and Gwen family?" Jenny tried to wrap her head around the idea of aunties.

"Not by blood, but we're friends."

"Do I have aunties" Jenny asked.

"No" the Doctor said. "And you just consider yourself lucky for that, aunties are awful!"

Jenny looked a little put out at this, but Donna quickly made it better. "They're not always bad. I'll be your auntie, Jenny!" That made them all smile. "Who's the father, anyways?"

Rose just shrugged. She knew, obviously, but it was Gwen's decision in the end and she wouldn't interfere.

"Guess we'll have to wait eighteen years and see" Donna said. "Could we go now?"

"No!" The Doctor shook his head. "I'm gonna have my hands full with you three, aren't I?" The three women just smiled at him. "So, where to?"

* * *

**The end! Oh my god this was hard to write. And yes, I know I left some things undecided and without a proper closure. I kinda meant to do that, in case I decide to do a sequel. I'm still not sure about that, I've had some ideas about it, but nothing defined. I think, if I do it, it would be a little different and pick up a couple of years after 'Reunions'. But I would really love to know if any of you are even interested (and please, save me from my own lameness and help me with a title, otherwise the story is gonna be called something like 'Reunions, revisited' which might just be the lamest title of all time!), so review and let me know! I hope a lot of the readers will review the last chapter and give some feedback, that would really mean so much and be such a nice ending to this story for me.**

**Huge thanks must go out to all of you who have stuck with me through 28 chapters of angst, weird humour, drunkenness, silly antics and love. I hope I made it worth your while, because all of you definitely made it worth it for me!  
Lots and lots of love, Anne**


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